Déjà Vu
by Starlight841
Summary: Third Part in the Kissmet series. As the lives of his children are changing rapidly around him, Logan can’t help but think he’s seen some of it before – on the other side of the fence. Rogan.
1. That's My Boy

The third installment is finally here! I know the wait must have been horrible for you lol. The truth is I had this written before the last chapter of Perfect Timing so I just went ahead and posted it. Yay! I've been looking forward to this for a long time so I really hope you like it. Now, this chapter is unusually long. Basically because when I thought it was done I went through it and realized that there was absolutely no Rory/Logan interaction and that just wasn't working for me. So I added in the last section as an afterthought. Basically because in a lot stories where they have older kids I tend to get bored because the focus completely moves from them and is shoved completely on the children and they don't appear for chapters at a time unless it's a phone call. I wanted to make sure that didn't happen. So if that means making random long chapters every once and a while to fit them in…so be it. I don't think you guys have a problem with that. Lol. 

Also a note, just so you guys know Mitchum will be making a lot of appearances in this story. He might even have scenes all to himself. Because the main focus of this is the comparison to Logan and Jake and Logan and Mitchum in the past. So I just need to have him in there to make the triangle complete and add a little more dimension. His character is going to be different but I don't want to say it's OOC. His personality changes will be explained in fuller detail later.

Also, I know Ellie didn't make a huge appearance in this chapter but she'll come in during the next one and she's going to have a huge story arc. That's basically it. I hope you guys like it. Don't forget to review!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Gilmore Girls so please don't sue me.

**Summary**: Third Part in the Kissmet series. As the lives of his children are changing rapidly around him, Logan can't help but think he's seen some of it before – on the other side of the fence. Rogan.

**Chapter One**

**That's My Boy**

Behind closed eyes he was vaguely aware of what was going on around him. He could hear the occasional ring of the phone and the voice of the receptionist as she answered in a hushed voice, not quite a whisper. He could hear the gossip constantly thrown through the office, making him wonder if these women realized they actually had jobs. He could hear the other students being asked questions about their conditions, obviously lying, making Cody just want to throw something at them. He didn't want to be here. He wanted to go home.

"How are you feeling, sweetheart?" an elderly woman asked him as she hovered over the rock hard plastic cot they had subjected him too. Cody opened his eyes and didn't say a word, letting his silence speak for him. The old woman shook her head and took his temperature.

"You don't look all that great."

The power of their observation skills never seized to amaze him. Cody watched as the nurse looked at the thermometer in her hands and shook her head with a tsk. He didn't know what she was trying to accomplish. They had taken his temperature about fifty times in the past hour. He was sick. No matter how hard they tried to deny it he had a fever. Why wouldn't they just let him go home?

For the first time in his life he wanted nothing more than to go home in the middle of school. Normally he loved to be there. He loved his classes. He loved his teachers. He loved his – well – some of his peers. He'd usually fake wellness in order to be at school on days that he probably shouldn't have gone. Today though, today there was going to be no faking.

He had woken up that morning with a small headache and a little queasy feeling in his stomach – nothing that he was really too concerned about. But by the time third hour had rolled around, he was breaking into sweats, his head was becoming hard to hold up, he almost threw up three times – the only reason he didn't probably being because he mentally forced himself not to. He finally decided to ask for a nurse's pass when he looked down at the assignment his English Lit teacher had handed out and the words started spinning and twisting on the page.

He had never wanted to go home so badly in his life. Why weren't they letting him go home?

"Well, sweetie, we've been trying to call your parents…" And therein lied the answers to all of Cody's questions. "We can't seem to get a hold of them. Is there anyone else we can call?"

Cody just closed his eyes again. He should have just stayed home this morning. He knew that the chances of getting either one of his parents on the phone at this hour were slim to none. His Dad's line was probably ringing off the hook and his Mom…well… why she wasn't answering her phone he didn't know. She was probably stuck in meetings all day.

Was there anyone else they could call?

He hadn't really entertained that possibility before. He'd never been in this position before. He didn't get sick and he definitely didn't leave school. Cody opened his eyes again and reached out for a pen and paper, writing down the only name and number he could think of that would be able to sign him out.

"Thanks sweetie." The nurse said. "You go back to sleep and we'll get right on that."

Sleep…right…there was no way he was going to be able to sleep here.

* * *

The newsroom was packed, as it usually was this time of day. Reporters were running around in a frenzy, so fast that it seemed, to Jake Huntzberger, that they must have all been on crack or track stars. He couldn't decide which. Although, there was one man in particular whose quivering hands and bloodshot eyes made him appear slightly like a crack addict. Having practically grown up in this office he knew better. Keith Mirando was an interesting character that was true, but a crack addict he was not. It was more likely that the bloodshot eyes were attributed to the high mold count and his hands…well they had shook like that for as long as Jake could remember. Perhaps it was Parkinson's disease? It would explain –

"Excuse me." A voice called, breaking him out of his reverie. Jake turned to face a young girl, an intern more than likely. He quickly cast his eyes up and down, taking in every inch of her – a habit that he had come to perform every time he was introduced to someone of her age and gender.

She was pretty, that was for sure, but to delicate to be considered hot. Her blonde curly hair rested evenly on her shoulders which were covered by a light pink blouse that modestly covered the curves that, no doubt, she possessed. She wore a light gray pair of pants that hugged her hips perfectly. She wasn't doing herself a favor standing there with her hands tapping her hips the way they were. It seemed to captivate Jake's attention and he couldn't tear his eyes away from their perfect shape. His mind was running rapid imagining what was behind them…

"Excuse me." She called again, once again breaking Jake out of his trance. Jake looked up to face her and saw her sparkling green eyes shining with mirth and scowl imprinted on her face. Jake smirked at her, something that over the years he found helped to ease those of the opposite sex, however, it was doing nothing for her.

"I'm sorry." He said, his smile never faltering. "I forgot to take my Aderall this morning. I just can't focus on anything."

"What a shame."

"Is there something I can help you with Miss…"

"Higginbottom. Elly Higginbottom." The girl said. Jake's smile went a mile wide. "You're sitting in my chair."

"Your chair?" Jake asked, spinning around the cubicle he was occupying. It did seem different than the last time he had seen it now that he looked. But this was his cubicle. He had marked this territory long ago. "I'm sorry but…this is my cubicle. You see… I come here to hide. Um…I have some food stashed in - "

"The bottom left hand drawer. Yea…I found it. Two Slim Jims and a box a stale Triscuits. I threw it away."

"Why would you do that?" Jake asked, opening the drawer to see that his stash was in fact gone.

"I did that because this is my cubicle. I don't know who you are but you aren't an employee here and Mr. Huntzberger, you know the owner of this establishment, personally gave this space to me. So I'd appreciate it if you would please get out of my cubicle!"

"What?" Jake asked. This was so like his Dad! The passive aggression never ceased to amaze him. He now had nowhere to hide from him or for that matter, even sit down during the time he was forced to be here. "Son of a bitch."

"Excuse me!" The self proclaimed Miss Higginbottom exclaimed. "I'll have you know that Logan Huntzberger is one of the most amazing journalists on the face of this planet along with his father. You should really treat him with a little bit of respect. His accomplishments are so massive you couldn't even live up to the amount of success the tip of his pinky possesses! He took a newspaper that was going to be closed down and turned it into one of the most prominent papers in the state in less than a week! He was published in the New York Times for an article he wrote when he was a sophomore in high school!"

"He also snores and doesn't put the toilet seat down. Now, it doesn't make that much difference to me. But to a person such as yourself it can be considered a huge turn-off." The girl in front of him narrowed her eyes and fixed her face in a scowl, ready to retort when the voice of Logan Huntzberger himself interrupted her.

"Son." He greeted, surprising the young woman. "Busy as usual I see." Jake smirked and leaned back in the chair.

"Just trying to make you proud, Dad." Logan rolled his eyes. "Don't bother my staff please. If you have nothing to do besides sit there and annoy, you might as well get back to school, you know, attend a class or two."

"If you insist." Jake said standing up and turning to face the speechless young woman. He held out his hand. "I don't think I introduced myself." The girl reluctantly accepted his hand and he shook it, his smile widening even further. "The name's Buddy Willward. I'm heading back to Yale now but if you want to meet up later behind the chemistry lab gimme a call. I hear there's an excellent view."

Jake walked around the desk, brushing past his father who surprisingly was wearing an amused expression. "It's was nice to meet you… Miss Higginbottom. I'll see you later, Dad." Logan shook his head as he watched his son disappear down the hall. He turned to the shocked blonde in front of him.

"Was he bothering you, Rebecca?"

"Uh…no…it's fine." She assured, walking behind her desk. She was still in too much shock to think straight. What had she just said to the future CEO of Huntzberger Publishing Group?

"Are you sure?" Logan said. "Because…I brought him into this world. I can take him out of it." Eva laughed. On the other hand if he was anything like his father he wouldn't let a grudge like that go on for too long.

"I'm fine." She assured. Logan smiled and continued his path to the copy room. By the looks of it, he was in for a wild ride in the days to come.

* * *

"Can I help you, sir?" Cody heard the receptionist ask for the twentieth time. He didn't know how long he had been lying there now, wishing he was asleep, trying desperately to be able to relax enough to get there. It wasn't working. He just wanted to go home.

"Mitchum Huntzberger." If he had the strength, his head would have popped up in joy. "I'm here to pick up Cody."

"Are you his father?" the woman asked. A silence followed, during which Cody could imagine the look on his grandfather's face.

It was a long running joke that one of the reasons he took to retirement so well was due to the fact that he no longer had to deal with stupid people. Perhaps the death of his grandmother had something to do with it as well – not that Mitchum was thrilled with the passing of his wife. The months that she spent in chemo were some of the worst in his life. But by the end of her road death was almost a blessing. At least she wasn't in pain any longer.

Once the grieving had passed, they had started to see a change in Mitchum. He moved to New York, not surprisingly seeing as Honor, Logan and their families lived in the city and also the fact that he had always wanted to move but Shira was holding him back. It was hard to describe but he became freer... As if the final ties to a life that he was thrust into were cut and he found himself finally able to be whatever he wanted to be – even if he was in his early seventies by the time he was able to do it.

"Do I look like his father?" he asked. "He's my grandson. Now can I please have the mound of tedious paper work the government insists I fill out in order to escort my own flesh and blood to his home please?"

Cody heard the clicking of a pen and the sound of distant scribbles wafting through the air as his grandfather signed him out of attendance. The nurse that had been periodically checking on him walked back over to his cot in 'wake him up' from the sleep that he had been immersed in. He swung his legs over the cot and grabbed his book bag, throwing it over his shoulder and trudged to the front desk where Mitchum was just finishing up signing the last of the documents that were placed in front of him. He took one look at the boy and winced.

"You look like death." He said. "How did your mother let you out of the house this morning?" Cody couldn't muster up the energy to tell him that this morning all he had was a simple headache. He just groaned and headed toward the door, his grandfather taking the hint and following behind him.

They walked out of the front entrance of Madison Preparatory and Cody climbed into the BMW that was parked right in front of the door. As Mitchum walked around the other side, he arranged his book bag against the window so that he could use it as a make shift pillow. He had closed his eyes and was trying, once again, to fall asleep when he heard the car door open and close and a felt hand go straight to his forehead.

"Maybe we should head to the doctor before I take you home."

"No…" Cody mumbled. "I don't wanna doctor."

"I don't want grey hair but at this point it's pretty inevitable." Mitchum said. Cody groaned and buried his face deeper into his book bag. "You need a doctor, kiddo. There's no arguing on this one."

"It's just the flu…" Cody insisted, sniffing and then wincing from the shooting pain in his throat. "I'm fine-d."

"I don't think so." Mitchum said. "Experience tells me that when one places a 'd' at the end of the word fine, one is not, in fact, fine. This seems a lot worse than the flu. You just sleep. I'll wake you when we get there."

"My car…"

"I'll have someone pick it up later." Mitchum reassured. "Unless you want to drive home." He looked over to his grandson with a smirk and noticed that he had already fallen asleep against his book bag. Mitchum just smiled sympathetic smile and turned on the radio before merging into traffic.

* * *

_"Hey Mom, it's me your only daughter!"_ Rory smiled into the phone as she heard the voice of Ellie over the line. Finally, after a day full of meetings and interviews she was able to turn her phone on. It had been way too long since she had seen her little girl. Ellie was studying abroad at Le Sorbonne as an art history major. It didn't really provide a solid career path, but hey, she and Logan had always encouraged their children to do whatever they wanted with their lives and she had already landed a pretty decent part time tour guide position at the Musee d'Orsay.

_"I was just calling to remind you that my flight gets in tomorrow at three. Now, you told me I was allowed to bring a friend so I am and we are flying into LaGuardia not JFK. Make sure Daddy doesn't screw it up this time. I love you. Pass along the message to Daddy and Cody and Jake – if you ever see him that is. Bye."_

Rory rolled her eyes as she deleted the voice mail. She would try her hardest to pass along the message to her oldest son but the chances of her seeing him before Thanksgiving dinner when Ellie could tell him herself were slim to none. He tried as hard as he possibly could to avoid the house at all costs – to avoid Logan at all costs. As a consequence Rory hardly ever saw her little boy. At least she still had her baby.

Though, he wasn't really a baby anymore. In two years Cody was going to be gone too. She didn't know what she was going to do without any of her children at home. She had her job, which she started up again about three years after Cody was born. She had Logan. But still…this part of her would always feel empty without her children in her house.

With a sigh, she opened the garage door and started flipping through the mail as she stepped into the kitchen. Not seeing anything of immediate interest, she threw the pile of papers on the counter and turned, startled by the sight of her father-in-law standing in her kitchen, heating up something on the stove.

"Mitchum!" she exclaimed, throwing her hand over her heart. "You scared me to death! What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry, Rory." Mitchum said, stirring whatever was in the pot in front of him. "I'm here with Cody."

"Well…thanks…but he's sixteen. He's okay."

"Yes, I appreciate the sarcasm." Mitchum said. "He's sick. The school called me today and asked if I could come pick him up. They said they couldn't get a hold of you or Logan."

Rory closed her eyes and let out a painful sigh. The one day she had to turn off her phone was the day that her baby needed her.

"I was in meetings all day." She explained, regretfully. "Is he, okay? Should I call the doctor?"

"We already went." Mitchum said.

"And…is he okay? Does he have cancer? Does he need a kidney transplant? Tell me. This is my child."

"He has mono."

"What?" Rory asked flatly.

"Mononucleosis, it's basically just the flu to the tenth power."

"Yes I know what mono is thank you." She said. "Are you sure? Can they test those things that fast?"

"Well…the doctor drew blood and their examining the sample now but Cody seems to think the results are going to be positive."

"Why?"

"Well the doctor mentioned the virus going around and Cody asked who else he had diagnosed. The doctor gave a list of about six names, two of which caught his attention. Um…Brad Suthers and Sarah - "

"Parsons." Rory said, biting her lip and nodding her head. If she were her son she would be in hysterics by now. Though…she was a girl. Cody was probably just brooding. Still her heart was breaking for him. At Mitchum's curious look Rory sighed, knowing an explanation was in order.

"Sarah Parsons is his whore of an ex-girlfriend."

"She always speaks so highly of you. I'm sure." Mitchum said with a smirk. Rory rolled her eyes and nodded her head, knowing that she was being a little harsh with her description of the teenager. But she had her reasons, no one broke her baby's heart without being permanently fixed onto her kill list.

"Yes well…" She said, looking to her feet, knowing that Cody didn't want the details of his personal life spread to everyone. "I'm going to go check on him. You don't have to stay if you don't want to. Thank you so much though."

"I was glad to do it." Mitchum said. "I probably should be getting home though. Tell him I made some chicken noodle soup if he's hungry."

"I will." Rory said with a smile. "Bye Mitchum."

With that Rory walked out of the kitchen and made her way to Cody's room. Once she opened the door and looked inside, her heart broke, seeing the lump wrapped tightly in blankets taking up the center of the bed. The trash can was over-flowing with Kleenex and his bedside table was covered with various pill bottles, vapor rubs, and throat drops.

"Hi, sweetheart." She said, walking over to him and sitting down next to him. She began to run a soothing hand over his warm head. Cody moved, turning over to face his mother and slowly peeking out of his makeshift cocoon. Rory frowned at his blood shoot eyes and his sweaty forehead.

"Mommy…" Cody mumbled. Rory smiled at the name she hadn't heard from his lips in years. "I don't feel good."

"I know, baby." Rory said. "Your Grandpa told me everything. Do you want to talk about it?"

"What's to talk about?" Cody asked, failing in holding back a cough that tore apart his delicate throat. He buried himself in his pillow, making Rory strain to hear what he was saying. "She cheated on my with that prick. He gave her mono and then she gave it to me, end of story. Talking done. I just want to go to sleep."

"Alright." Rory said, not knowing if he was in more pain from the illness or a broken heart. "Grandpa made you some soup. You just text me when you want it all right? I'll bring it up." Cody nodded. "I'm sorry I couldn't pick you up today. I was in meetings all afternoon. My phone was off."

"Mom…" Cody said weakly.

"Yea?"

"Can you bring me some hot water? My throat hurts."

Rory sighed, her guilt slowly dripping away. She knew something like this was bound to happen eventually. So far, she had been so careful not to let her job get in the way of her children's lives but finally something had come up and she wasn't there. She felt horrible but she couldn't stop the voice in the back of her head reminding her that Cody wasn't a little boy anymore. Maybe she didn't want to admit it to herself. All job complications aside, she was here now and if her baby wanted water her baby would get water.

"Sure I will. You just relax."

* * *

"I smell chicken noodle soup!" Logan exclaimed as he walked into the kitchen and set his briefcase on the counter. Rory looked up from the teapot that was heating Cody's water on the stove and smiled at her husband as he took in a deep whiff of the soupy smell. He had always had a weakness for anything with chicken broth.

"You keep your hands off!" Rory said. "That's for your son." Logan ignored her and walked over to the stove, lifting off the lid of the simmering pot and gazing into the contents.

"Oh…" Logan said his stomach growling from anticipation of digging into the soup that he knew was going to be delicious. "My Dad made that soup."

"How did you know that?" Rory said with a chuckle. "I could have made that you know."

"Nope." Logan said confidently. "That is my Grandmother's chicken noodle soup. She taught my Dad how to make that soup. I used to look forward to getting the flu just so I could eat that soup."

"Well Cody will be eating that soup. If you want some why don't you call your Daddy and ask him to make some for you."

"No thank you." Logan replied quickly. "Does Cody have the flu?"

"Worse." Rory said. "Mono, and before I even get the chance to look at you, you can wipe that 'that's my boy' smirk off of your face right now. He's miserable."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Logan said trying as hard as he could to keep the smirk she was talking about of his face.

"Uh-huh." Rory said, nodding her head sarcastically. "I'm sure you don't."

"So how'd he get it?" he asked, causing his wife to look up and glare at him. Logan let out an innocent laugh.

"What?" he asked. "I'm his father. I'm not allowed to be concerned about my son's health?"

"I'm sure concern is exactly what you're feeling right now."

"I don't understand why you're so quick to make me a bad guy."

"Because I know you and I've been living with you for twenty-six years." Rory said finally taking the teapot off the stove and going to the cabinet to fetch a mug.

"Ace…" Rory turned back to her husband and smiled at her nickname. It was a rare occurrence these days that she heard it. Most of the time he would say that name was while they were flirting with each other and after years with protesting children, they only got to flirt with each other while they were completely alone…and more importantly in a flirtatious mood.

"If you must know…" Rory began. "He got it from Sarah."

"Sarah? His girlfriend? Well that's boring. I was hoping for a scandal." Rory sighed.

"After she got it from Brad Suthers." Rory finished. Logan's face fell.

"You mean by like…drinking his soda right?" Rory gave him a pointed look. "Well there's my scandal." Logan tapped his fingers on the counter. "So Sarah is…"

"Now the ex-girlfriend."

"Right…" Logan said. "Poor kid. That never happened to me."

"Right." Rory said. "Because I was your only girlfriend, you ass."

"Oh yea…" Logan said with a smile. "How long ago did this happen?"

"About a week." Rory said with a sigh. "I'm taking this up to Cody." Rory poured the steaming water into the mug. "And then I am going to take a loooong hot bath, after a long day at the Times."

"Sounds great. Have fun" Logan said with a shrug as he began to flip through the mail Rory had left on the counter. She had almost made it out of the kitchen before she turned halfway around and shoot a devilish look her husbands way.

"You know…" She said, trailing off and clearing her throat. "You could join me if you like."

The mail suddenly found its place back on the counter as Logan quickly walked to catch up with his wife, placing his hand in the small of her back.

"How about I start up the water while you give that to Cody. That way it's ready sooner." Rory laughed and kissed his cheek.

"You're so thoughtful." She gushed teasingly. "That's why I've stayed married to you all these years. You're completely selfless."

**TBC…**

* * *

Hope you liked it! Don't forget to review! 


	2. Surprise Surprise

So how's this for a fast update? I just can't help it. I'm really excited about this story. Lol. Thanks so much for all of your reviews! So Cody doesn't make an appearance in this, basically because it wouldn't fit and he's pretty much just miserable at this point anyway. Lol. He'll be in the next chapter though. This chapter is really Ellie and Jake's. Both of their stories are set up in this one and I like them both equally. Hope you do too! 

All right, there were some serious problems with the name of the girl last chapter. Haha. Now half of that is my fault and I would like to apologize. I changed her name from Eva to Rebecca and forgot to change the last Eva. So my bad I'm terribly sorry. However, Elly Higginbottom was not her real name. This is something that Jake caught onto right away. It's a reference to The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. The main character, Esther, would always tell people she didn't know and didn't like that her name was Elly Higginbottom. Her Yalie ex-boyfriend, Buddy Willward, first kissed her at Yale behind the chemistry lab. I hope that clears any confusion and again I'm so so sorry. Her name is Rebecca.

Now on with the story, don't forget to review!

**Disclaimer**: The Gilmore Girls are still not mine.

**Chapter Two**

**Surprise Surprise**

"Rory…" Logan said, taking the cell phone out of his wife's hands, folding it and placing it in his pocket. Rory watched him take the phone away like he was taking away her source of life. Logan sighed, not in the mood to deal with this right now.

They had been sitting in the airport for hours now waiting for Ellie's delayed flight to arrive and Rory refused to leave, insisting that she wanted to see her baby the second she arrived. The wait had been so grueling that Logan had bought them both plane tickets and gone through the hell of security just so he and Rory would be able to sit in the President's club on a comfy couch and have a drink. Rory hadn't offered much protest, considering she was starting to get hungry and more than uncomfortable.

"He's fine." Logan finished as he saw the look of utter concern on his wife' face as he took away the phone.

"But…"

"He's fine." He said again.

"I just want to call and make sure he doesn't need anything…"

"If he needs something, he can get it himself." Logan said.

"But he's so sick…"

"Rory, he's sixteen years old." Logan said. "He may be sick but he's still capable of walking downstairs if he needs something and calling us if it's drastically important."

"I'm just worried about him." Rory said.

"I know you are." Logan said. "I'm worried too. But what he doesn't need is his mother calling him every hour and waking him up from the sleep that he needs to shrug this thing off." Rory sighed.

"I guess." She agreed reluctantly, sitting back against the couch and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Excuse me, Mr. Huntzberger?" A voice called, breaking Rory out of her worried daze. She looked up to see a waiter standing next to her husband. "Your daughter's flight has just arrived."

"Thank you." Logan said, jumping up from his chair and slipping the waiter a tip. Rory had practically run out of the lounge, not ever bothering to wait for Logan. Once he caught up to her they made their way to the baggage claim.

"Do you see her?" Rory asked as she stood on her tiptoes and tried to peer over the crowd of people waiting in baggage claim. "Not yet, Ace." Logan said, clutching his wife to his side and craning his neck around the large room, trying to see his daughter anywhere.

"Wait…" Rory said. "There she is!" Logan turned his head to look in the direction where she was frantically pointing and saw Ellie standing to the side of a carousel and watching for her bag. Strangely enough he didn't see her friend, Rachel anywhere. Perhaps she didn't tag along after all. Not that he would mind, considering the girl had always driven him up the wall. Rory broke out of his hold and ran toward her.

"Ellie!" she yelled, catching the attention of her daughter

"Mom!" She yelled, meeting Rory halfway and engulfing her in a huge hug. Rory held unto her for dear life and Ellie complied, letting her mother hug her as long as she needed.

"I've missed you so much!" Rory said.

"I missed you too." Ellie replied, her gaze moving over to Logan who was standing behind his girls with a smile on his face. "Hi Daddy!" she exclaimed, moving out of her mother's embrace and throwing her arms around Logan's neck.

"Hey sweetheart." He said, hugging her for a moment before placing his hands on her shoulders and looking at her. "You look so beautiful."

"No I don't." she said with a roll of her eyes. "I look horrible. I didn't sleep a wink on the plane. My cloths are all wrinkled. I'm not wearing any make-up at all. I look like a monstrosity."

"Impossible." Logan said. "You always look beautiful, wrinkled cloths and all." Ellie smiled and rolled her eyes, about to say something when she was suddenly interrupted by an arm around her waist and a kiss on the cheek.

"I agree." A voice sounded in her ear, causing her to break out into a smile and lean into the embrace. She was so happy she didn't see the blank look on her father's face.

"Did you get the bags?"

"I did." She was handed a carry on bag which she grabbed with her left hand and placed on the ground next to her before looking up to her father staring at her hand with wide eyes.

"Mom, Dad, this is Ian. Ian Cromwell..." She explained to her speechless parents. Rory and Logan continued to stare at the couple in front of them with wide eyes and open mouths.

"…my fiancé."

* * *

_"Party at Barnett's tonight. See you there?"_

Jake read over the text message and smiled. After attending his American History class for the third time this semester he realized that the chances of him actually passing his final in a couple weeks were slim to none. A night out with his friends was just what his doctor ordered. If that class wasn't so damn early he wouldn't be in this position.

He started deftly moving his fingertips, replying to the text, and was so consumed in his actions that he didn't see the blonde heading straight toward him. The two collided, causing the girl to let out a painful gasp and her books to fall to the ground.

"Shit!" Jake said, falling instantly to the ground to collect her things. "I'm sorry I…" he trailed off when he moved his head up and noticed her white shirt completely drenched in coffee. He felt so guilty he almost didn't notice the lavender bra that was now clearly visible through her shirt.

"I'm so, so sorry." He repeated, not able to tear his eyes away from her shirt. She dabbed at I furiously with some napkins before giving up and grabbing her books from him.

"Whatever." She said, causing Jake to snap into attention. He recognized that voice. Once his gaze met her face he broke out into a grin.

"Well if it isn't Elly Higginbottom." He said. The blonde glared and pushed him out of her way, angrily making her way along the path.

"Wait!" Jake said, lunging forward and grabbing her arm. She turned around to face him with a glare to menacing on her face that Jake cowered in fear and instantly took his hands off of her.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"I really am sorry." He explained, before slipping his hoodie over his head. "Here…" He held the sweatshirt out to her and she stared at it hesitantly.

"Please take it." Jake said. "You can't walk around with your shirt soaking wet like that – though…I have to say purple is your color." The girl looked down, taking in her appearance and blushing furiously. Without another thought she took Jake's sweatshirt and slipped it over her head.

"Thanks." She said reluctantly. Jake smiled, happy to have calmed her.

"You're welcome." He said. "Let me buy you another coffee."

"No." she said. "Really you've done enough."

"Please." Jake said. "I feel horrible. Just let me get you another coffee." The blonde paused, looking to her feet for a moment in reflection and looked back up t his hopeful face.

"Fine." She said, watching as he visibly calmed. "But I only have a half an hour until my next class."

* * *

"Your what?" Both Rory and Logan said at the same time in drastically different tones.

"My fiancé." Ellie repeated, holding up the hand displaying the ring that Logan hadn't taken his eyes off of since he noticed it. The smile on Ellie's face was a mile wide and upon seeing the rock on her daughter's finger Rory's smile soon followed.

"Oh my God!" Rory squealed throwing her arms around her daughter. "I'm so happy for you guys. Why didn't you tell me he proposed?"

"I wanted to surprise you!" Ellie said. Logan looked back and forth between mother and daughter with a look of absolute horror on his face. He didn't even know she had a boyfriend let alone a serous one and by the looks of it Rory knew everything.

"Ian…" Rory started, so overjoyed that she hugged the man she had never even met. "I'm so glad to finally meet you!"

"Yes glad to finally meet you." Logan said, shaking the boy's hand with a threatening look on his face. Ian was so overwhelmed and overjoyed that he didn't even notice the sarcasm in Logan's statement.

"It's nice to finally meet you too, sir." He said in a pristine British accent while pulling Ellie even closer to him. Logan wanted to rip the arm he had around his baby girl's waist off and throw it across the room.

"Elle here just won't shut up about you. It's hard to compete. I took her to the Jules Verne on our anniversary, thinking it was original but the first words out of her mouth were 'Daddy took me here when I was eight.' It was a blow to the ego." Ian said with a laugh.

"Remember that Daddy?" Ellie asked with a smile. Logan turned his attention to his smiling daughter and had to force tears from forming at the memory of her trembling hand grasping tightly to his as they rode the elevator up the leg of the tower and kept climbing higher and higher as the military academy behind them kept getting smaller and smaller. His heart broke at the thought of her hand clamped in someone else's.

"Yea I remember. That's where you had your first snail." He said with a laugh, disguising the crack in his voice.

"Is that where you proposed?" Rory asked, her smile becoming fake at the thought of him getting down on one knee on top of the Eiffel Tower.

"God no!" Ellie said with a grimace. "He's not that cheesy. I would have said no if he couldn't think of anything more original than that."

"I proposed on the river. Some friend's of ours were throwing a party and I dragged her away to this little alcove. It really wasn't that special." Ian said modestly.

"Yes it was!" Ellie insisted. "It was beautiful. It was dark so all the lights were sparkling on the water and everyone knew so the second I said yes they all started singing our song."

"They were drunk." Ian insisted.

"It was romantic." She said, causing Ian to shrug.

"Well you said yes that's all I care about." He said, stealing a kiss and making Logan's blood boil.

"I can't believe you're engaged!" Rory gushed, grabbing her daughter's hand and leading her toward the exit to the parking lot. Ian walked along with them and Logan trailed behind.

The last thing he expected when he walked into the airport was to leave with a son-in-law. Though, technically he wasn't a son-in-law yet. This was all too much to believe. Ellie couldn't be getting married. She was a baby. She was too young. She had her whole life ahead of her.

He didn't even know this guy. Who did he think he was sliding into his little girl's life and sweeping her off her feet? Ellie was his girl, not Ian's. He wasn't ready to give her up yet. He just got her back. He couldn't stomach the thought of her leaving home again in a couple days and going back to Paris with…him.

This was her home. Her home wasn't with some strange guy. Her home was here in New York with him and Rory and her brothers. She wasn't ready to go off and get married and create a new home with some guy with a dog and kids – No! She was too young. She wasn't ready.

"Daddy!" Ellie called, breaking him out of his thoughts. "Are you coming?" Logan swallowed and looked back at his daughter.

"Right behind you, sweetheart."

* * *

"So are you ever going to tell me your real name?" Jake asked as he sat across from the strange blonde at a cafeteria table. "It's not Esther is it?"

"You've read The Bell Jar." She said with a surprised smile. Jake smiled in return. It was the first time he had seen anything other than a scowl on her face and he had to admit he kind of liked it.

"Is it really that hard to believe?" He asked with a chuckle, sitting back in his chair.

"Well…yea…" The mystery girl said. "I mean…It's just that you don't look like the kind of guy that would bother to read the articles in the latest issue of Playboy let alone a novel by Sylvia Plath."

"Hey, I don't know anyone who reads the articles in Playboy." Jake said defensively, causing her to roll her eyes. "And when you grow up with my mother who uses some kind of cultural reference in every sentence she utters, sometimes it gets to the point where you'll do anything just to find out what the hell she's talking about." Mystery girl actually laughed, something that caught Jake slightly off guard.

"That and I got in so much trouble when I was in high school. The only thing my Dad would let me do while I was grounded was read and we have a whole library packed with books in our house. I've read everything from Harry Potter to David Copperfield."

"Gotta love that Harry Potter."

"So are you going to tell me your name?" Jake asked again. "I can't go around calling you 'hey you' now can I?"

"What makes you so sure you'll be seeing me around?" she asked.

"Well I need to get my sweatshirt back, don't I?" Jake asked with a smile. "Come on just give me a hint."

"All right." She said, taking a drink of her coffee and leaning back in her chair. "It's biblical."

"Biblical?" Jake asked. "Aren't all biblical names weird or hard to pronounce like… Bathsheba and - " "Jacob?" She interrupted with a teasing smile on her face. Jake raised his eyebrow and nodded his head, admitting defeat.

"Good point." He said. "Come on I'm gonna need a better hint than that." The blonde across from him rolled her eyes.

"My name is Rebecca." She said. "But my friends call me Becca or Bec or -"

"Becky?" Jake asked.

"God no." She said. "Call me Becky ever again and I'll make sure you'll never be able to utter another name again."

"And how would you go about doing that?" Jake asked, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. Becca blushed under his gaze and looked down at her hands.

"I have my ways…" she said cryptically. "Have you ever seen Robin Hood Men in Tights?"

"Ouch." Jake said right away. "Safe to say I will never call you Becky."

"Thank you." She said with a small smile before checking her watch. Surprisingly, she felt her hopes fall when she realized she had to leave. "I should probably go."

"Right." Jake said, brushing aside his disappointment. "You have class."

"Yea…class…so I'll bring your sweatshirt by your dorm later tonight."

"Right, and you have my address right?" he asked. Becca held up the napkin that he had scribbled it on and smiled.

"Good." Becca stood and began walking out of the cafeteria, turning around to face him when she finally swallowed her fear.

"Hey what are you doing tonight?" she asked. "Because I thought maybe after I dropped off your sweatshirt we could - "

"Jake!" a voice called, interrupting her before she could get the rest of her sentence out. Becca watched as a curvy brunette ran up to his chair and leaned over him wrapping her arms around his shoulders from behind. Jake jumped into attention startled and disappointed with her presence.

"Hey Katie…" he said, looking at a crushed Becca with apologetic eyes. She, however, was to busy looking at her feet with dissapointment and embarrassment to notice.

"Are you going to Barnett's tonight? I don't want to show up all by myself." Katie asked while nuzzling his jaw with her nose as if marking her territory.

"Actually I uh…"

"Oh don't change plans on my account." Becca said quickly, her stance becoming that of the defensive angry girl he had met yesterday.

"But I…"

"Really, it's fine." She assured. "I'll just give your sweatshirt to your Dad. I'm going back up to the paper tomorrow anyway."

"But I want…"

"You go. Have fun with your…girlfriend…"

"She's not - "

"It was nice meeting you, Katie." Becca said. "I'll see you around, Jake."

Jake watched her leave and let out a sigh of defeat. If only Katie would have showed up two minutes later. He wouldn't be going to Barnett's party with her. He'd be going to the pub with Becca. He relaxed against the back of his chair as Katie moved around to the front of him and sat playfully on his lap. Jake sighed and rested his hands on her hips. He liked Katie. He really did. She was just…She wasn't as easy to talk to as Becca. No one he had ever met was as easy to talk to as Becca was.

"Who was that?" she asked.

"That was… just a friend from my Dad's paper. That's all." Katie smiled and rolled her eyes.

"I thought you hated everything that has anything to do with your Dad's paper."

"Well I did…until I met her." Jake watched as Katie's face suddenly fell with hurt. She tried to cover it up but failed horribly.

"But I'm glad I get to go to the party with you." Katie's frown turned into a smile at his statement and she leaned down to kiss him. When their lips parted Katie rested her forehead against his and grinned, wrapping her arms around his neck once again.

"So…" She said. "Do you want to head back to my place? I have a couple hours until my next class." Jake sighed as his gaze drifted to the window behind her. He saw Becca hurrying toward her next class and swallowed the strange feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Sounds good." He said, kissing Katie once more and casting all thoughts of Becca aside.

* * *

When they arrived home from the airport Logan and Ian placed their bags down in the kitchen and Ellie looked around with a smile. It felt so good to be home - not that she didn't consider Paris home. She did. Nothing compared to the feeling of waking up in her apartment in Ian's arms. She wanted nothing more than to live like that for the rest of her life. It was just something about being back in New York. It changed her.

"Logan..." She heard her mother say. "Why don't you take their bags up to Ellie's room?"

"What?" he asked, his eyes holding a questioning and outraged gaze.

"Well, I was just thinking that it would be nice if their clothes and shampoo and stuff were there when they want to get dressed in the morning." Rory explained, not understanding the silent conversation her husband was trying to have with her.

"Can I talk to you in private for a moment, dear?" Logan asked, gritting his teeth. Rory rolled her eyes and complied, brushing a hand over her daughter's back as she left the room. Ellie sighed as she heard her parent's bickering in the next room and Ian came over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I knew this was going to be bad." she said, shaking her head.

"Elle..."

"I should have told him. He was caught completely off guard..."

"Baby, he was going to react like this whether he knew before hand or not. I'll sleep on the couch if it's going to be a big problem."

"No! You're not sleeping on the couch. I don't want you to sleep on the couch. I want you to sleep with me. I don't care what Daddy says. He's going to have to get over it. I love you."

"I love you too." Ian said. "Which is why I don't want your father to hate me."

"He doesn't hate you." Ellie said. "He doesn't even know you it's just... I'm his only daughter, you know?"

"I know." Ian assured. "My father went through the same thing when my sister got married and he _hates _my brother-in-law."

"He won't hate you." Ellie said. "I promise. You are just impossible to hate."

"Is that so?" Ian asked.

"Well you won me over." Ellie said with a smile. Ian smiled back and leaned down to kiss her, suddenly petrified at the thought of not sharing a bed that night.

"All right!" Rory cheered as she came back into the kitchen and clapped her hands together. "Let's take those bags upstairs. And don't make too much noise because your brother is sick..."

Ellie sent a silent thank you to her mother and bent down to pick up her bag, walking behind Ian as her mother led the way. Logan was left brooding in the living room and before Ellie walked up the stairs she placed her bag down and walked back to him, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing his cheek.

"Thank you, Daddy." she said.

"You're welcome." Logan said shortly, before letting his daughter go. "But don't think I'm not watching you. I'll know if there's anything going on in that room."

"Okay, Daddy." Ellie said, rolling her eyes and making her way to her bedroom.

Logan watched her leave and sighed, wondering when she had transformed from his little girl to a woman and why he wasn't there to see it.

**TBC...**

* * *

Hope you liked it! Don't forget to review! 


	3. The Huntzberger Triangle

Okay so now I'm really spoiling you guys. Lol. I can't believe how fast I'm writing this story. Sorry to say it won't last for long. I have finals coming up, barf. Thank you so much for the response to last chapter! You guys are great. I know a lot of you have been wondering exactly what's going on with Logan and Jake and this chapter will explain all that. Also, the ages of the kids are Cody 16, Jake 20, and Ellie, 23. Now…the first part of this chapter is a little…mature…so be forewarned. It's not enough to bump it up to a M rating but it's a little hot. Lol. I hope you enjoy. 

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gilmore Girls

**Chapter Three**

**The Huntzberger Triangle**

A gentle sucking sensation on her collarbone woke Ellie from her peaceful sleep in her very own bed. She felt so relaxed. The combination of sleeping in her bed and in Ian's arms gave her the best sleep she had had in months. She let out a moan as Ian's lips traveled up her neck to her ear.

"Good morning." He whispered before sucking gently on her ear lobe. Ellie opened her eyes and threw her arms around his neck, her fingertips brushing gently across his bare back.

"Good morning." She said with a giggle. "You better stop that."

"Why would I want to stop?" Ian asked, continuing to place kisses all over her neck and shoulders while his hands began to wander underneath the sheets.

"Because my Dad probably has the room bugged."

"Well then we'll have to be really really quiet." Ian whispered, causing Ellie to laugh out loud. His wandering hands finally found the bottom of her night gown and he slipped it over her head, leaving her completely naked underneath him.

"God you are so beautiful." He said before capturing her lips in a passionate kiss.

Ellie moaned and returned the kiss, slipping her tongue into his mouth. She removed the hands she had around his neck and arched her back higher to support her neck. Ian groaned as her hands found the band of his boxers and pulled them down. His hand found her breast as hers found his erection and they both let out moans of gratitude.

"Elle…" Ian whispered.

"Yea?"

"Condom…" His voice was soft and distracted as his eyes closed and his other hand traveled south.

"Shit!" Ellie exclaimed, taking him by surprise and causing him to stop his ministrations.

"What?" he asked, his voice taking on a normal tone. Ellie bit her lip and looked at him guiltily. "You didn't…"

"I did." Ellie said with a nod. Ian groaned and collapsed against her, his erection softening quickly.

"I can't believe this."

"What?" she asked, defensively. "My mother taught me how to pack you know. All those summers packing my bags for camp, she taught me to make a list: toothpaste, shampoo, underwear, deodorant... condoms never came up. Its just not part of my routine! I've never packed for a trip where sex would be involved! This is the first time I've traveled with a man."

"So what do we do?" Ian asked with a painful sigh, knowing that he wasn't going to be able to go through Thanksgiving and Christmas without having sex.

"Well…I can run to Target later today…" Ellie said guiltily as Ian frowned on top of her.

"And do what?" Ian asked. "Hand the kid at the register a handful of Euros? I know they're more valuable than the dollar but I doubt the people at Target would be keen to except foreign currency."

"I'll go to the bank before hand." Ellie said.

"The banks are closed, babe. It's one of their holidays..."

"Well then…I'll use my card."

"It's your Dad's card, Elle. He's going to flip when he gets the bill and sees that condoms were purchased the day after we arrived in his home. He already hates me…"

"He doesn't hate you!" Ellie insisted, before letting out a gasp and throwing herself out of bed.

"Where are you going?" Ian asked.

"I'm getting us some condoms." Ellie said, throwing on a robe and exiting her room. She walked down the hall, stopping at Cody's bathroom door and looking around her, making sure that no one was watching. Satisfied, she opened the door and headed toward the sink, looking through drawers and cabinets.

"Come on Cody…" she said. "You're a horny teenager. You've got to have – Condoms!" Ellie took an unopened box of Trojans out of the back of the bottom right hand drawer of her little brother's sink and smiled. Just when she thought she was free the door opened and Cody burst into the bathroom, catching her red handed. He just stared, not saying a word, his head peeking out of the comforter he had wrapped around himself.

Ellie looked at him with wide eyes, embarrassed at being caught stealing his stash and slightly concerned with his appearance. Her mother said he was sick but she didn't think he would be that bad. When she realized that he wasn't freaking out, just wondering what the hell she was doing, she calmed and shook the box in her hand.

"Can I have these?" she asked in a whisper. Cody started at her for a second longer before shrugging his shoulders and sniffing.

"I'm sure as hell not going to be using them." He mumbled before grabbing a bottle of ibuprofen from his medicine cabinet and leaving the bathroom, heading miserably back to his room.

Ellie silently thanked whatever force had made sure her little brother wasn't getting laid and scrambled out of the bathroom. She was so concerned with getting back to her bedroom and admiring the box in her hands that she didn't see her mother heading down the hallway. They bumped into each other and Rory looked at the box with raised eyebrows.

"Um…" Ellie began, more embarrassed than concerned with getting caught by her mother.

"I found these is Cody's bathroom." She said, watching as her mother's face fell. "I thought you might want to know…I'll just throw these away for you. Can you believe him? In your house." She finished with a huff.

Ellie looked to her feet and practically ran down the hall to her bedroom, leaving her mother speechless behind her. Rory knew she wasn't going to throw those away…but she was more concerned with the fact that they had come from her baby's bathroom. If she ever got her hands on that Sarah Parsons…

* * *

Jake walked through the revolving doors of his father's newspaper, wondering what the hell he was thinking coming in here on a day he didn't have to. He just had to talk to her. He felt horrible about the way things had ended yesterday all through the day he couldn't seem to get her off of his mind.

He had to apologize. That and he couldn't seem to shake the thought that perhaps he would be able to take her on that date that she had almost asked him on – that is if she would even talk to him.

He didn't understand why she was so defensive. It's not like he told her that he was single. Though, flirting with her for half an hour probably led her to believe so. She probably just didn't understand how he worked. She didn't understand his two-week policy…or perhaps she just wasn't interested in sharing November with Katie. He hoped that wasn't it.

He stepped into the elevator, pressing the button for the floor that he had bumped into her on two days ago. Hopefully he would find her there in his – her cubicle. When the doors opened and he stepped out, he was met with the one thing that he so desperately wanted to avoid.

"Jake?" The voice of his father called, causing him to stop in his tracks and turn around to face him.

"Hey, Dad." He said, forcing a smile.

"Great. I'm glad you're here." Logan said, leading his son back to his office. Jake sighed, having no choice but to follow. "One of my reporters called in sick today and I was going to have him go out for an interview - "

"I didn't come here to work, Dad." Jake said, watching as his father shuffled through a stack of papers on his desk. Logan immediately stopped what he was doing and sighed, moving his head up to look at his son and running a tired hand over his eyes.

"Of course you didn't." Logan said. "When do you ever come here to work?"

"It's Friday!" Jake insisted, becoming defensive at his father's annoyed tone. "I don't work on Fridays. We made an agreement. I come in every Wednesday and some Saturdays."

"Yes, and you're so hung-over your of absolutely no use to me." Logan missed the brief look of hurt on his son's face, not having intended for Jake to take his statement the way he did. "Excuse me for thinking that just maybe you actually wanted to start doing something for a change."

Jake shook his head in disbelief. "Did you ever stop to think that maybe I just don't like being forced to do something I don't even want to do!?!"

"Yes I have." Logan said. "You don't like being forced to work! That's what your problem is. You want everything in your life handed to you on a silver platter with absolutely no strings attached. Well that's not how the world works Jacob! There comes a point in your life where you have to realize that you can't pay someone to do everything for you. You have to work for what you want. And I'm tired of you coming here, sitting on your ass not doing anything and then going back to school to sit on your ass and not do anything!"

"I do things!" Jake insisted.

"Oh excuse me, you do do things. I was wrong. You throw plenty of parties, drink plenty of alcohol, smoke plenty of pot, and entertain plenty of girls. How could I have been so quick to jump to conclusions?"

"You don't know anything about me." Jake said, forcing down the lump in his throat. Logan chuckled, shaking his head fro side to side. He couldn't help but think that he had heard this same exact conversation somewhere before.

"Oh if you could only begin to understand how much I know about you…"

"Bull shit!" Jake said. "You've never taken the time to get to know me. You've never bothered to think that maybe this isn't what I want to do with my life!"

"Then what do you want to do with your life Jacob?" Logan asked, throwing his arms out to his sides in wonderment. "Your mother and I have always encouraged you and your brother and sister to do whatever you want in your lives but you have no direction!"

"That's not true…" Jake said weakly, not knowing how to defend himself.

"If you had ever once come up to me and said 'Hey, Dad, I don't think I want to take over the business. I'd like to go to law school, or med school… or even clown school for God's sake.' I would have jumped at the chance to help you get there and you know that! But you didn't. You have never shown an interest in anything besides sitting on your ass and having everything at your beck and call."

"Maybe I never told you what I want to do because I knew you wouldn't listen!"

"Jacob…" Logan said painfully, sitting down in his desk chair and holding his head in his hands for a moment to collect himself. He looked back up at his son who was standing uncomfortably. "I would have listened."

"Yea right…"

"What do you want to do?" Logan asked. "Tell me. Right now. Just tell me and you can walk out of this paper and never come back. Next semester you can change your major and start a path to doing something you really want to do. I will pay for your education as long as you need me to if you're working toward something that you really want to do."

"I…" Jake started, tearing his gaze away from his father so that Logan wouldn't be able to see the redness starting to form in his eyes. "I don't know…" Logan closed his eyes and sighed, leaning back in his chair.

"I'll find someone else to do the interview…" he said. Jake looked to the floor guiltily. "Dinner is at six on Thursday. Don't forget. Your mother would be crushed."

"I won't forget." Jake said with a roll of his eyes.

"It would be nice if you stopped by before hand. Your sister and her fiancé just got into town - "

"Ian proposed?" Jake asked, causing Logan to scoff and shake his head. Apparently everyone knew about Ian except him.

"Yea…" he said. "I'll see you around." Jake nodded solemnly and mad his way out of the office, stopping at the door when he heard Logan call out to him.

"Jake…" Jake turned around and met his father's gaze. "I love you." Jake nodded his head and opened the door.

"Yea…" he said before walking out the door and closing it behind him. He jumped when he saw Becca standing in front of the office door with a folder in her hands. She was still angry with him, that much was sure but when she looked into her eyes her demeanor softened.

"Are you okay?" she asked in concern. Jake looked at her concerned face and suddenly became angry. He didn't need her sympathy. He wasn't that pathetic.

"I'm fine." He said harshly, brushing past her and making his way out of the office.

Becca watched him go, slightly hurt by the harshness in his tone but soon shrugged it off. If he wasn't interested she wasn't going to spend her days pining after him. She knocked on Logan's office door quickly before peeking her head in.

"Mr. Huntzberger?" she asked, causing Logan to look up from his desk with a pained expression. It was blatantly obvious what had occurred in this room just moments before her arrival.

"These are for you." she said, walking over and handing him the file. Logan smiled gratefully.

"Thank you, Rebecca." She turned and left as Logan dropped the folder on his desk and sighed. He stared at the phone for a while before picking up the receiver and pressing number five on speed dial. He waited as the phone rang and a voice answered on the other line.

"Dad…" he said weakly. "I don't know what to do."

* * *

"So…Katie…" Ellie asked, turning her attention to the brunette sitting on her brother's side at the table they had occupied.

Ellie and Jake had always made a tradition of coming to a bar halfway between New York and New Haven for dinner whenever she come into town. It gave them a chance to catch up on each other's lives without their parents around. This time they were both accompanied by someone else.

"What are you majoring in?" she asked, trying to make conversation with the obviously uncomfortable brunette across from her. Jake had been brooding the entire evening, staring at his almost empty non-alcoholic Pepsi with a scowl on his face. If only he were a year older.

"Oh um…" Katie started, startled by the question. She had gotten used to the awkward silence. "History and political science."

"Oh, that's nice." Ellie said with a smile. "Are you going to go on to law school?"

"Um no…" Katie said. "I'm just going to get my masters and hopefully end up teaching."

"Yea, I was thinking about doing the same thing." Ellie said.

"I thought about doing law but I realized it's just too much work. I always saw myself getting married and having kids you know?"

"Excuse me!" Jake said, beckoning the waitress over to their table. "Can I get another drink please?"

"Sure." The waitress said. "Rum and Coke?" she asked and Jake couldn't suppress his smile.

"Yup." He lied, watching as his sister rolled his eyes from him across the table.

"So Ian…" he started in a loud tone, wanting the conversation to get off of him and his date. Ellie glared at him but he didn't falter. "What is it that you do?"

"Well I'm planning on becoming anesthesiologist." Ian said. "I have a few more years of school to go."

"Those are some mighty high aspirations you have there." Jake said, taking a sip of the drink the waitress had just handed him. "How did you come across that decision?"

"I don't know to tell you the truth." Ian said. "I guess I always knew I wanted to be a doctor and this sounded interesting…"

"The paycheck's not bad either. I mean…I've never heard of a kid thinking…'hey I want to knock people out for a living.' I mean…unless we're talking about Mike Tyson." Jake said.

"Jake…" Ellie said. Ian took her hand in his in order to calm her.

"Well that definitely helped to make my decision but it wasn't everything." Ian said.

"What do you want to do?" Jake froze, suddenly finding himself struck with that question for the second time today and still not having an answer.

"I want…" he started, letting out a breath of relief when their waitress came up to their table with a tray in her hands. "… to eat my burger. I don't know about you guys but those look really good to me."

Ellie bit her lip as she watched her little brother dig into his burger, knowing there was something going on with him that he wasn't telling her and wondering what it could possibly be.

* * *

"You need to let him work his life out on his own time, Logan." Mitchum said, sitting across from his son in his favorite restaurant in the city.

"I can't." Logan said, shrugging his shoulders and taking a sip from his drink. Mitchum groaned, wondering if his son had any idea how hard it was for him to be sitting her talking about this.

"Yes you can." Mitchum said. "Just let him go."

"No I can't." Logan said. "If I don't push him to do something he's going to spend the rest of his life not doing anything!"

"Logan…"

"I just don't understand it…Ellie and Cody…they're both so passionate about what they love. Jake just floats like…he doesn't have an interest in anything. But he's so talented, Dad…"

"I know…"

"If he just stopped being so damned irresponsible he could…God, I can't even begin to imagine what he could do with his life. I want him to be successful. I want him to be happy. I can't sit there and watch him waste away his gifts…"

"Logan, its a lot harder for a fish to swim against a current than with it." Logan paused, looking at his father as if he were a mad man. He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.

"What does that mean?" He asked. "Could you stop being so damn cryptic and just tell me what you're trying to say?"

"I'm telling you to stop pushing!" Mitchum said. "If you don't let up on the pressure one of these days you're going to wake up and realize that you pushed him so far he's not going to come back to you."

"That's not going to happen." Logan said.

"Yes it will." Mitchum said. "It will. Trust me on this one."

"Will you stop turning this around on me?" Logan said, his patience for his father wearing thin. Mitchum just sighed and leaned back in his chair, knowing that this conversation was going to come eventually.

"God, what do you want from me, Dad?" Logan asked. "I'm sitting here, eating dinner with you and you're acting as if I haven't talked to you in years. We're fine."

"You call this fine?" Mitchum asked. "Logan we're both grown men and we can't get through one single dinner without fighting. I'm sorry but I don't call that fine."

"Fine, you may be right." Logan said. "But that's not going to happen to Jake and I."

"It will if you don't let go."

"No it won't!" Logan said. "I may be pushing Jake a little but you did so much more than that."

"Logan…"

"No." Logan said. "You were a horrible father. My whole life, from the day I was born you never, not once, looked at me as a son. I was burden to you. I was always in your way. I couldn't do anything right and I failed at everything I put my hands on. I have never treated my kids like that."

"I know you haven't, Logan, and you're right I was a horrible father. But I know what it takes to ruin a relationship with your son for the rest of your life and I'm telling you, for your benefit, to take a step back."

"And I'm telling you it doesn't matter!" Logan said. "Until Jake gets on his path we might fight and bicker and but heads but once that's over we'll be fine. Because unlike you I've supported him in everything he's ever done with his life. I went to every baseball game. I saw every stupid play where he was dressed like a giant banana. And…something that may completely blow your mind…I tell him I love him every once and a while."

"Logan…" Mitchum said, shaking his head at the memories of countless tee-ball games and school pageants he attended when Logan was younger. "He was a kid. He doesn't remember that as well as you do…"

"Whatever." Logan said. "I'm going home. I'll see you on Thursday."

Mitchum watched his son walk out of the restaurant with a sigh. He knew he was partially right, but he couldn't help but think that maybe Logan had a point.

* * *

Logan walked into the house, sighing with defeat as he threw his briefcase on the counter and sat on a bar stool on the island. He couldn't help but wonder when his life became so complicated. It seemed like just yesterday he and Jake were talking and laughing with each other. His move to Yale had thrown his life in a loop in more ways than one. Maybe his Dad was right…maybe he was losing his son.

"Dad?" Cody asked in a raspy voice as he walked into the kitchen, his comforter still wrapped tightly around him. Logan looked up and smiled at him.

"Hey, kiddo." He said. "How are you feeling?"

"I can't sleep." Cody said. "I can't stand my bed anymore."

"Yea, I know how that is." Logan said. "Look your mom told me what happened - "

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay." Logan said with a nod. "I can make you some soup if you want." Cody nodded.

"Alright, go back to bed." Logan said. "I know it sucks but you need rest."

To exhausted to argue, Cody made his way back upstairs to his bedroom. Logan heated up some Campbell's chicken noodle soup and walked up to his son's room. Cody was lying in his bed, staring at the TV set to Comedy Central. Logan placed the soup on the table next to him and ruffled his son's hair.

"There you go, kid." He said. "I love you."

"I love you too, Dad." Logan smiled sadly.

"Glad to hear it."

Logan walked out of his son's room and to his own where he stripped his clothes and slipped into bed next to his wife. To his surprise, Rory was awake and when she felt the bed shift she turned around to face him, running a hand over her melancholy face.

"How was dinner?" she asked, knowing that was probably what had put him in his funky mood. Logan sighed.

"Same old, same old." He said. "I got into a fight with Jake this afternoon."

"What?" Rory asked, her concern doubling immediately. With every single fight between them, Logan started to believe that he was turning more and more into his father.

"I don't really want to talk about it right now." Logan said. "I just want to go to sleep."

"All right…" Rory said, watching as Logan's eyes closed in front of her. "I love you." With that Logan's mouth twitched into a smile.

"I love you too, Ace."

**TBC...**

* * *

Don't forget to review! 


	4. Suppertime

How good have I been about updates you guys? Seriously. I've been writing so much I haven't even had time to reply to your reviews. But I figured at the end of the day you'd rather me update faster and wait on a reply. I'll get to them as soon as I post this chapter. Everyone is in this one and I think you guys are really going to like it! I do. Don't forget to review! 

**Disclaimer**: Don't own Gilmore Girls.

**Chapter Four**

**Suppertime**

Becca paused outside the dorm room door, taking a deep breath and double checking the napkin in her hand to make sure she got the number right. Though, there wasn't really a point. She knew she had the number right. She was just too nervous to do what came next.

Knocking on the door would ensure that Jake would answer and then she would have to face him…and worse actually speak to him. She hadn't been so quickly rejected by a man in a long time. Though, she hadn't really pursued a man either. Perhaps this was why. She always ended up getting hurt.

She wanted to kill herself for forgetting to bring the sweatshirt to the paper. Giving it to his father would have been so much easier than actually having to see him again. She didn't take well to facing her fears. Defense mechanisms and good tennis shoes had always been her method in the past. If she had been wearing better shoes the other day she could have run out of the cafeteria the minute Katie had shown up.

She didn't quite understand the Katie situation as she had come to call it. She and Jake had spent a half an hour obviously flirting with one another. It didn't seem right that Jake would have a girlfriend. Wouldn't he have told her? Regardless, there was obviously another woman in his life and she wasn't interested in sharing.

She shook her head, forcing her fears aside and brought her fist up to the hardwood door. She knocked three times, that stupid 60's song popping in her head for a moment and making her want to scream – at least it wasn't a ceiling she was knocking on.

She held her breath as she waited for the door to open. As the sound of footsteps drew closer and closer her heart started to beat faster and faster. The door opened and a familiar blonde appeared, looking surprised to see her there. Her nerves got the best of her.

"Hi…" she said, tucking a strand of her curly blonde hair behind her ear and looking briefly at her shoes.

"Uh…hi…" Jake said. "What are you doing here?"

"I um…" Becca shifted her weight from side to side and jerked the sweatshirt toward him. She hated herself right now. If she hadn't have let her guard down she wouldn't be so nervous right now.

"This is yours…"

"Right…" Jake said, grabbing the navy blue bundle of clothing.

"I forgot to give it to your Dad the other day at the paper so…um…I thought I'd just stop by because I sill had you address so…"

"Yea…thanks." Jake said.

"You're welcome." Becca said, crossing her arms over her chest and hugging herself slightly.

"Are you alright?" She asked, watching as Jake formed a look of confusion. "Because… it just looked like you and your Dad got into a big fight and…"

"I don't want to talk about it." Jake said.

"Oh…" Becca said with a nod. "Okay then…I'll just…" She pointed vaguely down the hallway and started to back away from the door. "I'll just go then. Have a good night."

Jake watched her back away, his heart staring to go wild. He knew this was his last chance. If he didn't stop her now nothing would ever happen between them.

"Wait!" he said. Becca turned around and stood awkwardly, waiting for him to say something. "You want to get dinner or something? I don't have any plans and I really don't want to spend the whole night by myself."

"What about Katie?" Becca asked, shifting on her feet and looking away from him.

"Katie and I stopped seeing each other the other day. It wasn't really working out."

"Oh…" Becca said. "Well…"

"Please?" Jake asked. "I really want to take you out. We had fun getting coffee the other morning, right?"

"Well…yea…" Becca said.

"Well then, imagine what dinner could be like. It's an actual meal and I'm not almost dead like I am in the mornings." Becca laughed and looked up at him and smiled, the awkwardness finally melting off of her.

"Dinner would be great."

* * *

"So Ian…" Logan said, placing his fork on the dinner table and subsequently interrupting the pleasant conversation flow between his wife and daughter. Both of the girls looked at him with narrow eyes and Cody looked up nervously from the soup he had been absentmindedly stirring for the past five minutes.

"Tell me about yourself."

"Daddy…" Ellie warned through gritted teeth as she continued to glare at her father. Logan lifted his glass and brought it to his lips, shrugging his shoulders in the process.

"What?" he asked. "I'm just curious. Is it so wrong that I want to know about my future son-in-law?"

"That's not what you're doing." Ellie said, remembering a distant meal very similar to this in the past. After bringing her first boyfriend home she had been apprehensive to bring anyone home to meet her father.

"It's fine." Ian said, grabbing his fiancée's hand. Logan looked at the exchange and smirked, trying in vain to hide his disapproval. "I um…I graduated from Cambridge pre-med."

"Cambridge…wow." Logan said quickly.

"Uh…thank you. I took last year off and moved to Paris where I met Elle…"

"So what are you planning on doing?" Logan asked before letting out a chuckle. "I mean…a bachelor's in medicine is hardly grounds for a career, now is it?"

"Logan." Rory snapped. She looked over at Cody who she knew was about to make some sarcastic remark and pointed to his bowl. "Eat your soup!" Cody closed his mouth and did as his mother told him. Ian looked down at his fork and started to nervously poke his mashed potatoes.

"No…it's…it's not that's for sure." He said. "I actually just started applying to various med-schools…"

"In Europe?" Logan asked, frightened by the thought that his daughter would stay across seas even longer to be with her husband.

"Um…no actually." Ian said, glancing over to Ellie and squeezing her hand. "Elle here really wants to come back to the states after she graduates. So…I've applied at several schools here um... Johns Hopkins, Harvard, Yale, Washington University…"

"Wash U?" Logan asked. "St. Louis really?"

"It's a really good school, Daddy." Ellie said.

"One of the best…" Rory chimed in, wanting to make sure the kids didn't get the impression that she and Logan were both on the same page here.

"Oh well, of course. I know that…" Logan said. "It's just….St. Louis is pretty far…You might as well be in Paris again.'

"Can I talk to you in the kitchen, dear?" Rory said, placing her napkin on the table and sending an evil look her husband's way. Logan sighed, placing his napkin down as well and following Rory into the kitchen, leaving the kids at the table all by themselves.

"So how bout those Cardinals…" Cody said, knowing another comment about his sister's possible move would throw her over the edge.

"Why don't you go fuck yourself since your girlfriend is tending to someone else!"

* * *

"Ow…OW!" Logan said as his wife dragged him into the kitchen. "You're hurting me!"

"You deserve it!" she said roughly dropping his arm so that she could cross her arms over her chest.

"What?" Logan asked. "What did I do? I was asking the kid about himself. I didn't realize that was such a big deal."

"Asking Ian about his life isn't a big deal, Logan." Rory said. "It would just be nice if you put away the interrogation lamp."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Logan defended causing Rory to scoff and roll her eyes. "I'm just trying to get to know the kid because, unlike some people, until a few days ago I didn't know he existed! Why didn't you tell me Ellie had a boyfriend?"

"Because she asked me not to." Rory said.

"Why would she do that?"

"Because she knew this would happen." Rory answered, gesturing wildly up and down her husbands form. "The last time she told you she had a serious boyfriend you insisted that she bring him home and you scared him so much that he broke up with her the next day!" Logan scoffed.

"It's not my fault the kid didn't have a back bone." Logan said.

"Yea…well…Ian does. So stop treating him like his a felon, please. He's a nice boy. I think Ellie did very well."

"Oh please…" Logan said with a roll of his eyes. "You know as well as I do that the Ian sitting at that dinner table isn't the real Ian. We don't know anything about this kid…Sure he's charming and well spoken and makes a good impression. But all that…that's fake…it's a mask."

"Oh…" Rory said, shaking her head. "You don't have to tell me this, Logan."

"What does that mean?"

"It means…that statistically girls tend to marry someone very similar to their father."

"What are you saying!?!" Logan asked, becoming impatient with his wife. Rory rolled her eyes and groaned.

"I'm saying that if you give him a chance, you might actually find yourself really liking Ian. My father wanted to rip you apart at first too, you know. He loves you now. You guys have a lot in common."

"He just bugs me…" Logan said. Rory rolled her eyes, not understanding why he refused to listen to reason.

"And what bugs you so much about him, Logan? I'm really curious to know since you've talked to the boy an accumulative fifteen minutes since he got here."

"I don't know…" Logan started. "There's his accent…I mean…what the hell is that about?"

"I don't know, babe." Rory said. "It might be due to the fact that he's English!"

"And what is with that name he calls her?"

"Elle?" Rory asked. "It's her name…"

"No." Logan insisted. "Her name is El-lie, two syllables. Is it that hard to pronounce the second? Is he that lazy? If this kid doesn't want to take a millisecond to pronounce an extra syllable than I'm seriously concerned about how he handles other aspects of his life…"

"At least he actually uses her name…" Rory said. Logan stopped all speech and looked to his wife with wide eyes.

"Whoa…" he started. "Are you telling me what I think you're telling me? Because…"

"You know for the longest time I thought you called me Ace because you couldn't remember my name…In fact I still think that." Logan gasped.

"That is so not true…I told you I was going to remember your name and when I say I can do something I can do something."

"Alright then, say that you can march back into that dining room and be nice to the man that's going to marry your only daughter." Logan glared at his wife who simply stood in front of him, mimicking his stance with her arms crossed over her chest.

"I can be nice to the man who is going to marry my only daughter…" Logan said, finally giving into the fact that this was yet another argument that he wasn't going to win.

"Good boy." Rory said, patting his check and heading back into the dining room, a dejected Logan following closely behind her. She sat down at the table and cleared her throat, interrupting the latest bickering match between Cody and Ellie.

"So Ian…" She said with a sweet smile on her face. "Tell me about your family."

* * *

"My little brother is eight." Becca said with a smile. "He's in the third grade and he's just… oh he's the light of my life you know? It's amazing what an affect he has on me. I can go home in tears but the second he runs in the room I'm smiling again, you know?"

"No." Jake said with a laugh while he shook his head. "My little brother is sixteen and a pain in the ass."

"You don't mean that." Becca said with a teasing smile. Jake nodded his head emphatically.

"Yes, I really do." He said. "When I was sixteen and he was twelve, I had this girl over and I brought her up to my room because… well… between you and me she wasn't very hard to persuade…"

"Ass…" Jake smirked and continued on with his story.

"Well…I went down stairs real quick to get some um…beverages from my Dad's stash and Cody snuck into my bedroom behind my back and told the girl I was gay." Becca broke out into laughter, interrupting him.

"She left, needless to say and when I got back up to my room with a bottle of Skyy all I could see was a lump in the bed, which I thought was her and when I went over there and moved the blankets it was him laughing his ass off. I wanted to kill him."

"Yea…but looking back you have a smile on your face." Becca said, looking at his amused expression. Jake nodded his head for a moment.

"Yea, I guess you're right." Jake said. "I got him back though. I told my Mom that he followed me to one of my friend's parties and she flipped out. She didn't like the idea of her baby being corrupted by my friends."

"Don't you have a sister too?" Becca asked, watching as Jake raised his eyebrows in confusion. "You're Dad has pictures in his office…" She explained.

"Um…yea I have a sister, Ellie. She's twenty-three." Jake said. "I went out to dinner with her and her fiancé the other night. They're visiting from Paris."

"Do you like her?" Becca asked. Jake smiled.

"My sister?" he asked. "I love my sister. We've always been freakishly close. She's just one of those people that is impossible not to love you know?"

"Yea I know what you mean." Becca said. "I always wanted a sister. Looking back though I don't know if it was because I wanted a sibling or help."

"What do you mean?" Jake asked.

"Well…my Mom was gone a lot. She and my Dad got divorced when I was a baby. So she was always working, trying to support me. She got pregnant with my brother when I was eleven and when he was born she didn't really have time to take care of is both. I basically raised him and I was just a kid myself. It would have just been a lot easier if I would have had some help you know?"

"Do you resent your mother for that?" Jake asked.

"No." Becca said. "Not at all. My mom did what she had to do. It sucks that I never really got to know her but…things are getting better now that Robbie is getting older. She has more time and I still help out whenever I can. My mom just always wanted to give me everything I ever wanted and hey…I'm at Yale, you know?"

"Yea…I guess." Jake said, really he had no idea. The thought of never getting to know one's parents because they were always working, trying to put food on the table was completely foreign to him. His parents worked a lot, this was for sure, but it was because they wanted to – never because they were worried about finances.

"But I get a lot of financial aid, plus the internship I'm doing with your father pays a lot so…"

"You get paid for that?" Jake asked. "I thought all the interns were volunteers."

"Most of them are but there's a couple of us that were selected for a special program. The money we make at the paper goes straight to our tuition so I'm no technically getting paid…I don't get a check or anything."

"I had no idea my Dad did that." Jake said.

"Your Dad's a great guy." Becca said.

"I don't really know him all that well." Jake said. "I used to…Up until a few years ago we were really close and now it's like…I don't know…something's changed, either him or me…"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know. It's like…I got to Yale and suddenly I'm not his son I'm his heir. All he cares about is training me for my career…"

"Well isn't that what college is about?" Becca asked.

"Well…yea…I guess…" Jake said, thinking about her statement. "But my Dad's not a professor. He's my Dad, you know? I don't need him to constantly be training me and pushing me. I need him to be my Dad – not my boss. And it's like…ever since I started school I'm this huge disappointment."

"That's not true." Becca said. "I work with him. You should hear how he raves about you all the time…"

"Yea right…" Jake said.

"I'm serious." Becca said. "Did you ever think that maybe it's not you he's disappointed in but rather what you do?"

"I'm pretty sure it's just me." Jake said, reaching over to take a sip of his soda. "So tell me more about, Robbie. He sounds cute."

* * *

Ellie knocked on her little brother's bedroom door. After her comment at the dinner table he had blown up at her, but she couldn't help but notice the tears that threatened to fall down his cheeks. She felt horrible. Sometimes she had a hard time remembering that Cody and Jake were so drastically different. Jake would have laughed her comment off.

"Cody?" she asked, taking the initiative to open his door on her own since she wasn't getting a response. Cody was lying in his bed watching movies and effectively ignoring her.

"How are you feeling?" She walked over to the queen sized bed and slipped underneath the covers, snuggling up to him and noticing how scalding hot he was to the touch.

"You still have a fever." She said. Cody was still ignoring her and staring at the screen, watching Friends on Nick at Nite.

"My friend, Annie got mono my sophomore year and she was gone for like a month and a half. We thought she died or something…"

"Thanks for the optimism." Cody said sarcastically, while turning up the volume on the television.

"Look I'm sorry about what I said tonight at dinner…" Ellie said with a sigh. Cody fixed his jaw and refused to tear his eyes away from the screen.

"Forget about it." He said.

"No…" Ellie said. "I'm really sorry. I know I hurt you and I feel horrible. I shouldn't have said that. It was totally uncalled for. I should have known better. I've gotten my heart broken before." "I didn't get my heart broken…" Cody said with a scoff.

"Hey…" Ellie started. "I'm not Jake. I'm Ellie. I won't judge you. You can tell me how you really feel…"

"I feel like I wasted five months on a two-timing bitch. That's how I feel. I'm not sad. I'm not heartbroken. I don't give a shit anymore."

"Not even a little?" Ellie asked, propping her head up on her elbow and using her other hand to pinch her thumb and forefinger together.

"Nope…"

"Codes…" Ellie said, forcing her little brother to look at her. "Don't lie to me. I know you care. And it's okay. Sarah was…. special to you. She was your first…you know…and…."

"I didn't have sex with Sarah." Cody said, causing Ellie to look at him in surprise.

"What?"

"I didn't have sex with Sarah." He repeated a little softer, embarrassed and ashamed by the statement.

"But…the condoms I found…" Ellie said. "I thought…"

"The condoms you found were unopened." Cody reminded. "I bought them because I thought I was going to have sex with Sarah but…"

"You didn't have sex with Sarah." Ellie finished, for some reason feeling strangely relieved.

"She told me she wasn't ready so I waited but…apparently when Brad came along she was more than ready…just not ready for me…"

"So you're a…"

"A virgin? Yes." Cody said. "I'm a big fat virgin who got mono from his ex-girlfriend who fucked another guy before she would fuck him."

"That's not true…" Ellie said, causing Cody to turn and looked at her with a raised eyebrow "You're not fat. You're perfect for your height."

Cody's lips started to twitch up and down with the smile that he was trying in vain to suppress. After a while he finally gave in and let out a laugh… and then a violent cough. Ellie snapped into attention, rubbing her little brother's back soothingly as his body shook.

"I'm so sorry, sweetie." She said. "I shouldn't have made you laugh like that…"

"No…" Cody said, smiling at his big sister. "It's okay. It was worth it."

Ellie smiled at him and snuggled back into him, resting her head on his warm chest and turning her attention toward the TV where Joey was wearing all of Chandler's clothes. She let out a small chuckle before realizing where she was. Cody used to sit on her lap, yet here she was lying on him, his chest feeling almost as broad as Ian's. It was strange what you miss living across the ocean for a few years. Her little brother wasn't so little anymore.

**TBC...**

* * *

There it is! Please review! 


	5. Turkey Day

All right guys, here's the update! It took longer than the other ones but I was kinda busy with stuff the past couple of days. Who's seen Pirates? I have…and I was really sad at that ending… I hope there's a fourth one now…Anyway… so this is the Thanksgiving chapter and I know a lot of you were expecting a huge family frenzy but….there really isn't one. This is really Jake and Becca's chapter everyone else kind of has a secondary role. Although present the family is really only mentioned briefly. Sorry to disappoint. I hope you all like it anyway. I do. 

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Gilmore Girls

**Chapter Five**

**Turkey Day**

Yale had an eerie calm about it during fall break. The lack of people walking the halls gave the place a strange atmosphere. It was almost as if it was a ghost town. Jake half expected a ball of tumbleweed to blow across the pavement.

He was walking along the sidewalk, checking his phone and rolling his eyes at the text message from his father reminding him once again about Thanksgiving dinner this evening. That man wouldn't trust him to remember his own birthday.

Deciding not to text his father back, Jake placed his phone back in his pocket and continued to make his way to the parking lot where his car was parked. He decided arriving early for dinner this year might get his father off of his back.

When he looked up from his pocket, he was surprised and happy to see a familiar blonde heading in the opposite direction. He'd thought she had gone off to be with her family, as virtually everyone else had done. Yet, here she was walking the pathways of Yale right in front of him. It was strange how just the mere thought that she was here made him want to jump with glee.

Their date the other night had gone spectacularly well. It was no longer awkward or uncomfortable to be around her. In fact, it was probably the most comforting feeling in the world to be in her presence. The only thing Jake regretted was not making a move. If he had just gotten it over with the status of their relationship wouldn't be up in the air like it was now.

He couldn't surpass the smile that graced his face as she walked closer and closer to him. As usual, she was paying absolutely no attention at all to where she was going. Her head was stuffed in a book as she walked and Jake had no choice but to watch in awe. That was something he would never be able to accomplish.

"Hasn't anyone ever told you that reading and walking at the same time can cause serious and sometimes deadly injury?" Becca jumped and looked up at Jake, startled at being taken from the world she was in. She smiled at him.

"Hey." She said, closing her book and giving him all of her attention.

"Hey yourself." Jake said. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be home with your family?"

"Well I could ask the same of you." Becca said.

"I'm actually getting ready to leave for New York now." He answered. "So what's going on?" Becca sighed.

"My mom and my little brother left earlier this week for Minneapolis. My Aunt Marissa lives there and she always hosts Thanksgiving. I just couldn't afford the plane ticket."

"Oh…" Jake said, feeling horrible as he watched her face fall with disappointment. "You should have told me. I could have gotten you a plane ticket."

"What?" Becca asked, surprised and a little outraged at the suggestion. "Jake…no…you're sweet but…you don't have to do that. I don't want you buying me plane tickets…"

"Well then I could have arranged for you to fly over on my Dad's jet."

"Jake…no…" Becca said, shaking her head. "Look, I appreciate the thought but…I don't need special treatment because we're…um…you know…I don't want you to think that you have to do all this stuff for me. I don't like you for your money."

"I know that, Bec." Jake said. "I just don't want you to be upset because you can't see your family. It's Thanksgiving. What are you going to do?" he asked. Becca sighed and looked down at her feet.

"I don't know…" she said. "I'll probably head to the Chinese Buffet across town. There are a lot of people who don't celebrate Thanksgiving going. I'll be fine. Don't worry about me."

"I want to worry about you…" Jake said, reaching forward to catch her hand in his. Becca looked up in his eyes and smiled, silence filling the space between them for a moment.

"But you don't have to…"

"But I want to…" Jake said. "Look come to New York with me."

"What?" Becca asked.

"Come to New York with me. Thanksgiving is huge at my house so there's plenty of food. My Dad likes you so you'll be more than welcome. Come. It's better than being with a bunch of people you don't know eating crappy Chinese food."

"I'd need to shower…" Becca said sheepishly.

"Go shower, make yourself beautiful. I'll pick you up in an hour."

"I don't want to make you late…" Becca said, remembering that he was getting ready to leave.

"I was leaving early anyway. Please come. I want you to come. You can meet my sister… and my brother. But if he tells you I'm gay it's not true…" Becca laughed and nodded her head.

"Alright…" she said. "I'll go."

"Great!" Jake said. "See you in an hour."

"In an hour." Becca repeated, pausing on the sidewalk as she watched Jake skip away – not literally of course. Jake wasn't a skippy kind of guy. But she couldn't suppress the giddy smile on her face as she watched him walk away with a bounce in his step. She never dreamed she could make a guy do that.

* * *

"You look nervous." Jake said as he pulled into his driveway behind his Aunt's SUV and put the car in park. Becca was staring out of the windshield open mouthed at the sight of the mansion in front of her.

Her heart was pounding at the sight of it. This was the biggest house she had ever seen in her life. She didn't know what she was expecting. After all, she was going to Jake's parent's house and she knew that Jake's father was the Logan Huntzberger but still…She didn't think places like this really existed – and this was the smallest house on the street.

"What?" she asked, not able to tear her eyes away from the building in front of her.

"It looks bigger than it is." Jake said. "The roof is just really high…most of it is attic space. It's only two stories but it looks like three. Plus the garage takes up about half of the front."

"The garage?" Becca asked, not really able to tell that there was a huge garage in front of them. It was cleverly hidden in the floor plan.

"Yea it fits six cars…"

"Six!"

"Well…there are five people in my family plus an extra."

"Oh yea…you can't forget the extra." Becca said, noticing how Jake tensed next to her and slid the key out of the ignition silently. "I'm sorry…"

"Forget about it."

"No I'm sorry. It's just…I've never seen a house like this before. I'm just…I'm a little overwhelmed. I didn't mean it like that." Jake sighed.

"That's okay." He said. "I get it."

"Jake." Becca said, reaching over and grabbing his hand. He looked over and her and smiled. "I'm sorry. It's a beautiful house."

"Wait till you see the inside." Jake said, with a smile slipping out of the car and walking around to open her door for her.

Becca sighed and smiled back, glad not to have started a fight before the day had even begun. She stepped out of the car once Jake had successfully opened the door for her and made her way toward the front door, smiling again when she felt Jake's hand press into her back.

When they reached the door, Jake pushed it open and the pair was met with a loud collective groan coming from the men gathered in the living room. Becca laughed. At least one thing this year would be the same. Though the atmosphere was nothing like what she was used to.

The moment she walked into the house she was blown away with its breathtaking beauty. The tiled floor literally sparkled under the light of the chandelier hanging above them. The ceilings were high and the staircase that curves along the left side of the wall led to a beautiful balcony. She felt like she was in a museum. Yet, the family portraits hanging on the wall made her feel like this really was a home.

"Mom!" She heard Jake call from beside her as he slipped off her coat. He went to hang it in the coat closet as she heard his mother reply.

"In the kitchen!"

"Come on." Jake said, gesturing for Becca to follow him. Becca did, craning her neck to look at every detail of the house as they made their way.

Jake led her though the living room that was packed with the men of his family, all eyes glued to the giant plasma TV in front of them. The players on the screen were almost life-sized. She couldn't help but stare at the sight of her boss, sitting on the couch next to a boy, whom she assumed to be Cody by his resemblance to the pictures she had seen and the fact that he was about to fall asleep. Jake had mentioned that he was sick.

He looked so at ease and…human, something that she never really thought of him prior to this day. Before he was her boss, Logan Huntzberger was a legend. Seeing him sitting in his home, dressed casually, laughing with his family was something that she never expected. He, however, was too distracted by the football game to notice her presence.

But when she walked into the kitchen, her presence wasn't ignored at all.

The laughter of the women gathered there stopped abruptly as she and Jake entered the kitchen. Becca watched as the woman whom she knew to be Jake's mother stopped breathing and took a long sip from her wine glass. The only person who wasn't watching her every move was the single man dressed in a flannel shirt slaving over the stove.

"Hi Mom." Jake said, walking over to her and giving her a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Hi sweetheart." Rory said, distractingly kissing him on the cheek as well. "Who's your friend?" Jake walked back over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, pushing her forward slightly. She smiled, hoping that it would calm the teeth being bared to her.

"Everyone this is Rebecca Johnson. Bec, this is my mother, Rory, my grandmother, Lorelai, April, Liz, Honor, Dullah, Gigi, my sister Ellie, and my great-grandmother Emily Gilmore…oh and the guy over there slaving over the stove would be my step-grandfather, Luke, I could tell you how they're all related to me but it's complicated and you wouldn't remember anyway. Hell you probably won't even remember all of their names..."

"It's nice to meet you all." Becca said nervously, interrupting Jake. The women agreed, standing there frozen like statues. Luke was the only one who offered her a handshake, which she gratefully accepted.

"Becca was stuck at Yale for Thanksgiving so I invited her over. I hope that's okay."

"Of course." Rory said politely. "The more the merrier."

"Where's Lizzie?" Jake asked, looking around for his cousin.

"Oh she just decided to stay at school. She'll be here for Christmas." Honor said. "And Lauren is going to pop any day now so she and Cameron thought it would be best to just stay home this year."

"I can't believe you're going to be a grandma…" Rory said squealed at her sister-in-law, taking another sip of her wine.

"You might become one sooner than you think, you know…" Honor replied, causing Ellie to get defensive. Jake bent over and whispered in Becca's ear.

"Come on." He said. "Come meet the guys." He took her hand and dragged her into the living room. Logan was doing double takes between him and the TV, not wanting to miss a second of the game.

"Hey, Jake." He greeted warmly.

"Hi Dad." Jake's greeting was a little tighter. "You know Rebecca…"

"Rebecca!" Logan said, confused by her presence yet welcoming at the same time. "It's nice to see you. I didn't know you knew Jake…"

"Um…we met at the paper actually…"

"Oh that's right." Logan said. "It must have slipped my mind. Everyone!" The men glanced in their direction.

"This is Rebecca Johnson, one of my interns. Rebecca this is everyone." Everyone said a quick hello at the same time, causing Cody to groan and awaken from the half slumber that he had finally slipped into.

"Shut up…" he moaned. Logan slapped a hand on his knee and Cody groaned again at the contact.

"And this bundle of joy is my youngest, Cody."

"Nice to meet you, Cody." Becca said with a smile. Cody closed his eyes and mumbled a 'whatever'

"Sorry, he's usually more charming. He's pretty sick."

"Yea…Jake told me." Becca said, turning around to see Jake but finding that he had already taken a seat on the couch and was immersed in the game.

"Well come on. Take a seat…" Logan said.

"Daddy." Ellie said, walking into the living room holding Logan's PDA. "You have a phone call."

"Thanks sweetheart." Logan said with a smile, taking the phone from his daughter and making his way upstairs to the study as to not disrupt the game. Becca watched as Ellie leaned over the couch, giving whom she assumed to be her fiancé a quick kiss. Ellie turned to her and grabbed her elbow.

"Come on, Becca." Ellie said. "You don't want to stay in here with all the men…" The next thing she knew, she was being led back into the kitchen and away from Jake.

* * *

"Dad…" Jake asked as he tapped lightly on Logan's study door. Logan looked up from his chair behind his desk and held a finger up to his son.

"Yea…alright…" he said into the phone before letting out a laugh. "Will do. I'll talk to you later, Colin." Logan took his phone away from his ear and pressed the off button, setting it down in the desk before looking up at his son.

"Mom needs your help with something…" he said.

"Alright…" Logan said. "I need to talk to you first though." Jake sighed and walked further into the study and took a seat across from his father The last thing he wanted to deal with today was another argument about his future.

"What's up, Dad?" he asked, not bothering to hide the exasperation from his tone.

"What exactly are you doing here, kid?" Logan asked. Jake was caught off guard. He had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.

"What do you mean…"

"I mean…why are you bringing Rebecca to Thanksgiving dinner?"

"I thought you liked Rebecca." Jake said, raising an eyebrow.

"I love Rebecca." Logan said. "She's a wonderful girl, which is why I want to know what you think you're doing."

"I thought I was bringing her to dinner since she didn't have anywhere to go…"

"Jake, please…" Logan said, rubbing his forehead.

"What?" he asked defensively.

"Just stay away from her. She's a nice girl. She doesn't need to get her heart broken in two weeks when you get sick of her…" Logan said, watching as Jake looked at him in outrage. "Yea…I've noticed the pattern."

"I'm not going to get sick of her!" Jake spat.

"Jake…" Logan said. "This has been happening since you were in high school. You meet a girl, you date, and in two weeks she's never seen or heard of again."

"You make it sound like I'm killing them…" Logan rolled his eyes.

"You know what I mean." Logan said. "You get bored and you drop them like rocks."

"Yea well…maybe that won't happen this time."

"Jake…"

"I like her, Dad." Jake said, watching as Logan looked up at him in shock. "I really like her. I don't know why. I just do. She's...I don't know she's different. She's special. I'm not going to get sick of her."

Logan sat across from his son, staring at him, noting the expression in his face and the emotion in his eyes. He had seen that expression before somewhere…in his own mirror perhaps. And for some reason all he could see when he looked at that expression was his wife.

"You like her, huh?" he asked with a sigh.

"Yea…" Jake said. Logan bit his lip and sat back in his chair.

"Then what the hell are you doing sitting here with me?" he asked. Jake smiled slightly, surprised at his father's sudden change of tune.

"Thanks, Dad…"

"Yea…yea…" Logan said. "But if that girl quits my paper in two weeks because she can't work with you I'm hunting you down and killing you myself. I don't care that you're my son. I'll do it." Jake smiled at his father's attempt of power. He knew he wasn't serious. For the first time in what must have been years they were joking with each other again.

"Now get the hell out of here." Logan said, waving his hand toward the door. Jake did as was told, slipping out of the study and making his way down the hall. Logan watched him leave with a sigh, hoping beyond hope that Jake knew what he was doing.

* * *

Becca smiled as she picked up a picture of Jake that must have been taken when he was about four or five years old. She had gone upstairs to use the bathroom and get away from the group of women downstairs but had wandered into Jake's old bedroom when she saw that the door was open. She just couldn't handle it anymore. They were all nice; it was just she couldn't take the questions anymore. She didn't even know what the status of her relationship with Jake was.

It was nice to get away to sort out her thoughts for a moment. She had learned so much about him in the brief minutes that she had spent with the women in his family. Apparently he wasn't a relationship guy. She was the first girl he had ever brought home. It was then that she realized she knew absolutely nothing about this guy. When she stepped into Jake's room she thought that maybe she's be able to see a little more into his life. But she couldn't help but feel like she was snooping into things that she had no business snooping in.

It was hard not to though in a place such as this, where his entire childhood lay before her eyes. There was a huge bulletin board on one of his walls, covered with pictures of him at every age with family and friends. There were also some random notes, memos, and messages, things that were obviously of importance a few years ago before he moved. It was as if his mother had frozen time in this room. Nothing had moved since the day he left. Her mother had done the same thing.

She couldn't help but be captivated by his past. She wanted so desperately to know every detail about his life. This picture of him being carried on his father's shoulders was just the beginning.

"Hey you." Jake said, leaning against his doorframe and knocking a couple times. Becca gasped and turned around, blushing at the sight of him. She was embarrassed about being caught.

"Hey…" She quickly pinned the picture back on the board next to a tennis medal. 'I'm sorry. I shouldn't be in here. I just…"

"No it's okay." Jake said sincerely. "I was just wondering where you ran off to." He walked over to her, closing the door behind him. "What are you looking at?"

"Just pictures… You were a really cute kid."

"Were?" Jake asked, pretending offence.

"Well I mean…you're still…I didn't… Its just…"

"You know you're pretty cute right now." Jake said. "The whole flustered thing really works for you." Becca blushed and looked at her feet. She quickly reverted her gaze to the board and pointed to a picture.

"Is this Luke?" she asked, gesturing to a picture of him when he was about ten standing in knee high water with a fishing rod and a man standing protectively behind him. Jake smiled.

"Yea that's Luke. He took Cody and me camping for a week during the summer and taught us how to fly fish. It was really fun."

"He seemed like the outdoorsy type." Becca said, letting her eyes wander around the board more until they fell on a picture taken only a couple years ago. Jake was on the dance floor in a tux with a blonde in his arms. Both were wearing huge smiles and looked to be having an amazing time. She couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy.

"Who's she?" She asked. "She's pretty."

"Oh, that's my cousin Lizzie. That was taken at my other cousin's – her brother Cameron's wedding a couple years ago. We were pretty wasted. Neither one of us had dates so we danced together the whole time. We were falling all over ourselves. It was pretty bad."

"Oh…" Becca said with relief. "I thought she was your girlfriend or something." Jake smirked.

"Jealous?" he asked, turning his head toward hers. Becca blushed and shook her head, trying to look away from him.

"No…" She lied.

"Hey that's okay." Jake said, placing a hand on her cheek and forcing her to look at him. He smiled and her embarrassment quickly faded. "You're cute when you're jealous."

"I thought I was cute when I was flustered…" Becca whispered. Jake nodded and slowly started to lean toward her.

"I guess you're just cute all the time…" He whispered back. Becca could feel his breath on her lips and her heart started to race. She took in a shaky breath and closed her eyes as the space between them finally closed and she felt his lips brush against hers. Her nerves melted away the moment their lips came in contact and she leaned into him, turning what was meant to be a sweet kiss into a passionate embrace. Her arms flew around his neck and his tongue was about to slip into her mouth when a knock sounded on the door.

"Jake sweetie…" Rory's voice called as she popped her head in, interrupting them. "Oh I'm sorry!"

"Mom…" Jake said in exasperation, not letting Becca out of his hold and leaning his forehead against hers.

"Dinner is ready whenever you are…"

"We'll be down in a second, Mom."

"Alright…" Rory said, slipping her head out of the crack she had made with the door and pushing it open all the way before heading back downstairs. Jake watched the moving door with a laugh.

"I feel like I'm in high school again." He said. "I wonder if she realizes I could just walk over and close it…" Becca laughed.

"Come on…" She said, grabbing his hand and dragging him out of the room. "Let's get some turkey."

**TBC…**

* * *

Hope you liked it. Please review! 


	6. Anchors Away

Sorry about the delay guys! This was the longest you've had to wait yet. But the writers block set in for a while. I didn't know where I wanted to go with this chapter. But…I like the end result and I hope you do too! Once again it's mainly focused on Jake but Cody has a pretty important segment as well. Hope you like. I didn't get to respond to your reviews this time but I figured you'd rather have an update. I just haven't had the time. Thank you all so much though! You guys make my day! I really appreciate the feedback. I will respond this time the second I get it. Thanks again!

**Disclaimer**: Don't own Gilmore Girls

**Chapter Five**

**Anchors Away**

Jake walked along the docks, taking a deep breath of the misty ocean air and sighing in content. He shoved his hands in his sweatshirt pocket, trying to keep away the chill. He nose was already frozen from the cold November air. Yet, even though the weather wasn't optimal, the thought if stepping foot on that boat brought a smile to his face.

"Hey, Grandpa." Jake said, watching as Mitchum's head popped up from the boat.

"Hey, there, kiddo." Mitchum greeted, gesturing for Jake to come aboard. Jake did just that, walking on and taking a seat on one of the white leather benches along the port.

"You taking her out today?" Jake asked.

"No not today." Mitchum answered. "Just preparing her for later. Why do you ask?"

"Oh…" Jake said. "I just…I was wondering if I could borrow her later this evening."

"It's kinda cold…" Mitchum reminded. Jake just brushed his comment aside.

"The cold doesn't bother me." Jake assured. "The sea is calling me that's all."

"Hmm…" Mitchum said, smiling a knowing smirk. "Nothing better than the sea. Out by there with miles of open space, no one to bother you, all by yourself, or with a girl…"

"What makes you think this is about a girl?" Jake asked. Mitchum simply laughed and dropped what he was doing, sitting next to his grandson and popping open a beer. He handed one to Jake who raised his eyebrow in surprise and accepted the offered beverage.

"You, my dear boy, are your father's son. That's all." Jake frowned and looked to his feet, shaking his head in denial.

"You know, people keep telling me that…" Jake said. Mitchum simply smiled in response. If only Jake could realize how much he was acting like his father this very moment.

"That's because it's true." He said, squeezing the boy's shoulder. "I've known since you were knee high to a grasshopper - pardon the expression – that one day you would grow into the spitting image of him…physically and otherwise."

"Okay…physically yes, I've seen pictures but…it's the otherwise that I have a problem with. As far back as I can remember we haven't had one thing in common." Mitchum laughed and shook his head.

"Oh but you do, Jake. You may not see it now. But I do. I watched both of you grow up – you more than him to my regrets. But in that time I've seen things that…I don't even know how to describe. Sometimes I look at you and I think God has given me the chance to go back in time and fix the damage that I caused."

"What damage?" Jake asked. "You and Dad get along fine." Mitchum offered him a small smile.

"Yes…we get along like a pair of old co-workers." Mitchum said. "I suppose that's a good thing."

"Better than me." Jake said. "I feel like a scared child when I'm around him."

"You think your father didn't go through that?" Mitchum asked. Jake looked up at his grandfather and shrugged his shoulders.

"I remember times when your father was a few years older than you are now. He would come into my office and sit down and I could feel the fear emitting off of him. He was a grown man and just my presence reduced him to a cowering child."

"Then why does he do it to me?" Jake asked. "If he knows what it's like then why does he act like that?"

"He doesn't want to, Jake." Mitchum said. "As hard as those times may be to you I promise they're fifty times worse for him. There's no feeling worse than that which comes with the thought that your child is afraid of you."

"Then why does he do it?" Jake said. "I didn't used to be afraid of him…"

"It's his job, kiddo." Mitchum explained with a pained shrug and a sigh. "And sometimes being a father means you have to accept the fact that your children may not like you. Being a father isn't about being best friends with your kids. It's about doing whatever it takes to make them the best people they can be. All your Dad wants is to see you grow into a smart, successful, honorable man. And he sees all these qualities in you that are amazing and special and that he knows will help you along a wonderful path. And when you squander them away and waste this vast potential that he knows you have, it hurts him. It makes him feel like he isn't doing his job."

"Really?" Jake asked with a sardonic laugh. "Because when he speaks all I can get is how much of a disappointment I am."

"No…" Mitchum said. "He doesn't think that. He just knows you could be so much more."

"Sometimes I'm doubtful." Jake said. Mitchum smiled at patted him on the back, hoping to lift his sprits at least a tiny bit.

"Well I'm not. One of these days you're going to wake up and realize that you have this spring of untapped potential inside of you. You're Dad found his with the help of a certain brunette and maybe… maybe a certain blonde will bring it out in you."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Jake said, looking down at his feet with a blush. Mitchum laughed and slapped his grandson on the back.

"I'm talking about the reason you want to borrow my yacht tonight." Mitchum said. "A nice romantic dinner for two out on the water."

"I was just going to bring some friends…" Jake said evasively.

"I'm sure you were." Mitchum said. "Tell you what. I won't mention the unmentionable things bound to be happening on this boat tonight if you agree to let me take you two out for dinner sometime. I want to officially meet the girl who's stolen my grandson's heart."

"You mean Lauren?" Jake asked. "I thought you'd met." Mitchum laughed at Jake's smartass remark and was reminded of something.

"Yes I have met Lauren." He said, fishing into his wallet and taking out a picture. "Speaking of…she had the baby yesterday." Jake smiled and accepted the picture.

"Cute…"

"Seven pounds, two ounces, seventeen inches."

"So that makes me his…"

"First cousin once removed but I think Uncle Jake will work just fine."

"I suppose you're right, Great-Grandpa." Mitchum froze and shot a look at Jake. "I mean…never mind."

"Remember who's boat you want to sail, boy."

* * *

Cody walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, standing there for what seemed like hours to look over the nonexistent food. His parents needed to find time in their busy schedule to actually buy food. They had a sixteen-year-old kid for crying out loud. He turned around, about to look in the pantry when he noticed the flashing numbers on the answering machine. He walked over and clicked the button, returning to his quest for food.

_"Hey everyone!"_ His sister's voice sounded. _"Just wanted to call and let you know that Ian and I have arrived in Paris safe and in one piece. We'll see you again at Christmas and then I'm home for good! Love you!"_

A beep sounded, signaling the end of the message.

_"Hey Cody."_

Cody turned and stared at the answering machine with a scowl as he listened to the message. He was so absorbed in his shock and anger that he didn't notice his mother slip into the kitchen through the garage door.

_"Look…I tried calling your cell but you haven't been answering. I've left a million messages. I just…I know you probably haven't lost it, you just don't want to listen to me and I get it but…I just wanted to make sure."_

Cody laughed and shook his head. She had a lot of gall, calling his house and leaving a message on the answering machine. It seemed like nothing would ever get her to realize that he never wanted to speak to her again.

_"Look…I just wanted you to know how sorry I am. I never meant to hurt you and…I know you're sick because of me and that sucks and I'm so sorry. Maybe…. maybe we could be frie - "_

Cody reached over and deleted the message before the word 'friends' could even be uttered. He would die happy if Sarah Parsons never appeared in his life again.

"Maybe you should talk to her." Rory said, startling her son. She mouthed a silent sorry as she placed her purse on the counter. Cody just shook his head.

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop." Rory assured. "It's just I couldn't help but over hear and…"

"I don't want to talk to her." Cody said emphatically. Rory sighed and sat down next to him.

"Cody…" She began. "For the past couple weeks I've sat back and accepted the fact that you didn't want to talk about this. I've respected your space and I haven't pushed you. But I really think you need to talk about this. It's not healthy to sit around and brood. All this emotional stress can't be helping to get you better…"

"I don't want to talk about it." Cody insisted. Rory just sighed again and got up from her chair. She walked around to the stove and put a teapot on the burner.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm making some hot chocolate. Would you like some?"

"Yes." Cody said, casting his eyes down at his mother's scolding stare. "Please…" he finished, his voice trailing off weakly.

"You know…" Rory started, forcing Cody to suppress a groan. "I know you're sixteen years old and you want your father and I to treat you like a man because you're not a child anymore. But…growing up doesn't mean you have to close off your emotions to people. It's all right to get a little sad. It's all right to show a little vulnerability. I don't think any less of you. In fact, it concerns me more that you're so closed off than it would of you would open up a little."

"Talking about it just makes it seem too real…" Cody mumbled. Rory took his hand and smiled sadly at him.

"I know…" She said. "But it is real. You can't live in denial forever. You need to move on."

"I don't want to move on." Cody finally admitted. "I was happy with her. I thought she was happy with me. I don't know what happened. I don't know what I did." Rory sighed again and closed her eyes, trying to force herself back to when she was seventeen years old.

"You didn't do anything, sweetheart." She assured him. "Sometimes the people who we think we're in love with…turn out to be people who we love just as friends. I have no doubts that Sarah was happy with you and she cared about you very deeply but…someone came along who she really fell in love with. That's all. Her love for you just wasn't the same."

"Why are you defending her?" Cody asked, his eyes starting to gloss over with tears. "You're my Mom. You're supposed to hate her."

"I don't hate her, sweetheart." Rory said. "I hate what she did to you. I hate that she hurt you and I hate that she wasn't brave enough to just tell you that she wasn't happy. I hate that she cheated on you and thought no one would find out. But I don't hate her. It takes a lot of energy to hate a human being. I can hate her actions but I don't have it in me to hate her. I don't think you do either. You can be angry. You can want to scream at her and hurt her but at the end of the day you still love her. If you didn't it wouldn't hurt so much."

"I just don't understand why I wasn't good enough." Cody said.

"I don't know sweetie." Rory said. "These things don't have any rational explanation. You love who you love and it's as simple as that. It isn't because you're any less than Brad. It's just because…there's something about the way she feels when she's with him that's different."

"That doesn't make any sense." Cody said.

"Maybe it doesn't make sense to you because you've never been head over heels in love before." Rory explained. "I never imagined that I would fall for a man like your father. I hated people like him for as long as I could remember but for some reason…when I was with him I had this feeling. I felt safe and happy and…I don't know it's just unexplainable. Try as I might have to deny it, I was in love with him."

"Did you cheat on another guy to be with him? Because if you didn't then it's not the same thing." Rory chuckled and shook her head.

"Actually I did." Rory said. "Albeit briefly and in a serious moment of weakness, I did cheat on my boyfriend. I kissed your father at a…um…fraternity party when I had a boyfriend back home. I felt horrible about it and I cared about my boyfriend like you wouldn't believe he just…he wasn't your father. That's the only con I have to say about Dean. He was a great guy. He still is. He's just not your father."

"Who's not his father?" Logan asked as he slipped into the kitchen with a smirk on his face. Rory rolled her eyes and contemplated teasing him but decided against it.

"Dean." She said with a smile.

"Do I know a Dean?" Logan asked, talking a glass out of the cabinet and grabbing some water.

"My ex-boyfriend." Rory reminded.

"Ah him…the one who punched me in the face."

"That's the one." Rory said. Logan nodded.

"Well…that's always good to know." Logan said. "It always pleases me to think that I've fathered all of my children."

"And on that note…" Cody said with a groan, standing up to leave the kitchen. Rory smiled at him and grabbed his wrist before he could stray too far.

"Are you okay?" She asked quietly, Cody nodded solemnly.

"I think I'm a little better." He said.

"Good." Rory said. "I'll bring your hot chocolate to your room when it's done."

"Thanks Mom." He said before making his way upstairs. Rory watched him leave before smiling and turning back to her husband.

"What was that about?" Logan asked, taking a sip of his newly acquired water.

"Well I just got him to open up about the whole Sarah situation for a second. She left a message on the answering machine and she seemed really guilty so I've put up the knife for now."

"Well that's good." Logan said. "Because…you could be put to death if you killed her and I just wouldn't know what to do with myself."

"I'm sure you'd get by." Rory assured with a roll of her eyes.

"Maybe I'd buy a lot of cats and live in a cabin in the mountains…I'd just get so lonely there all by myself."

"You wouldn't be lonely." Rory said.

"No?"

"Nope. You'd have the gardener, the butler, the cook, and the maid you'd hire to take care of the cats to keep you company."

* * *

"What is this?" Becca asked with a laugh as she stepped onto the boat where she had been led by the chauffer her boyfriend had sent for her. Jake was already standing on the boat next to a built in table, holding a bottle of champagne in his hands.

"This is a nice romantic dinner for two out on the water." Jake said, mirroring his grandfather's words with a smirk.

"Is this your boat?" she asked, brushing her fingers along the mast as she walked over to him, her heels making it extremely hard to walk on the moving surface of the boat. Jake noticed her stumbling and handed her a pair of flip-flops from a storage compartment underneath the white leather table seats.

"Thank you." she said, taking her heels off and switching out the shoes.

"This isn't my boat" Jake said, answering her previous question. "It's my grandfather's but I've sailed it many times. So you have nothing to worry about." Becca laughed.

"Oh I know I have nothing to worry about because…you're not going to be sailing this boat."

"I'm not?" Jake asked. Becca just laughed again and shook her head. "Why not?"

"First of all…it is the middle of November – almost December – and it's cold. You didn't tell me what we would be doing. I thought I would be spending the night in Manhattan not Martha's Vineyard. So all I have is this tiny little black dress that I'm wearing and the pajamas you told me to pack."

"I happen to like the tiny little black dress." Jake said, deciding to leave out the comment he was going to make about her pajamas.

"Well thank you. I'm glad you like it." Becca said, pecking his lips before pulling away. "Secondly, the Atlantic Ocean doesn't have the most tranquil of waters and sailing through them in this tiny little sail boat means that I will get wet. You have no idea how long I spent doing my hair. I will not be getting wet."

"I think you'd look beautiful wet." Jake said suggestively, causing Becca to reach out and smack his arm.

"Thirdly…" She began. "I hate sailing. I watched the Perfect Storm when I was like…three and it completely traumatized me. I'm terrified of sailing. I have a hard time getting in the paddle boat my grandpa has in the pond in his backyard."

"You hate sailing…" Jake said, his voice dropping in disappointment. He should have checked with her on this first.

"Yea…" She said. "But this is so nice!"

"Well…" Jake said weakly, turning around to face the table set with candles and a steak dinner. "That's what I was going for."

"This is really romantic." Becca said, placing a hand on his chest and leaning up to kiss him. "And I'm already on the boat so we might as well just have dinner."

"Well…dinner yes…" Jake said. "But I kinda told my grandfather we'd be sleeping on the boat."

"You told your grandfather we'd be sleeping on the boat…"

"Well…" Jake said. "With dinner and then sailing I thought we'd have killed plenty of time so…sleeping on the boat wouldn't be that big a deal. Really I'd expected you to be asleep by the time I got her back in the dock anyway."

"We're going to sleep on the boat…" Jake rolled his eyes.

"There's a bedroom in the cabin. It's not like I'm asking you to sleep on the bench."

"There's a bedroom on this thing?" Becca asked, looking around, Jake walked forward and opened the door between the wheel and single passenger seat. It opened to reveal stairs that went down and Becca popped her head in, looking down to see a small bed that took up most of the space.

"Oh look at that…" she said with surprise. Jake smiled.

"There's a toilet too…."

"Good to know."

* * *

"So does your grandfather live out here?" Becca asked, taking a bite of the perfect juicy steak in front of her. Jake swallowed and wiped his mouth with a napkin while nodding his head.

"He has a house out here. It's been in the family for ages. He really lives in Manhattan but he spends most of his time here. We Huntzberger's, we're boat people."

"I can tell." Becca said, nodding her head with a smile. "Did he teach you how to sail?"

"No…" Jake said. "My Dad taught me how to sail. We used to come out here all the time during spring break, just our family. The whole family always comes in the summer but in the spring it was just us. When I was little I used to sit in his lap and steer the boat around."

"I backed my Mom's car out of the driveway when I was twelve…" Becca said. "But I ran into the mailbox so she never let me drive her car again. When I got my permit my Uncle David had to take me around." Jake laughed.

"You know that hill behind my parents' driveway?" Jake asked. Becca nodded her head. "When I was seventeen I was running around town so I just stopped by the house to get something real quick.. I parked in the driveway, not wanting to waste the time getting the car in the garage. Well…when I came back out I got in the car and was about to back out but when I stepped on the accelerator I realized that I put it in drive and not reverse so I just drove my car all the way down the hill…"

"Oh my God." Becca said with a laugh.

"My Dad was so pissed. It had just rained really bad so it got stuck in the mud. We had to call a tow truck to get it back up the hill. It wasn't totaled though…it just was a bitch to repair. I was fine though."

"Well that's good to hear." Becca said, placing her fork on her plate and her napkin on the table. Jake followed suit and they sat there, staring at each other in silence for a short moment. Jake's lips twitched up into a sly smile and Becca blushed, turning her gaze away from him.

"So are you going to show me around this place or what?" Becca asked, launching herself from her seat and walking around the deck. Jake followed her, swallowing a strange lump in the bottom of his throat. When he pointed to the table where they had just been eating he noticed that his hands were shaking for some reason.  
"Well that's the…um…table." He said.

"Right.' Becca confirmed. "I've seen that."

"And this is the starboard side..." Jake randomly gestured to the right of the boat. "And this is the um…port side." He finished, this time gesturing to the left. "Port and left are both four letters so…that's how I remember."

"Right." Becca said, melting at the touch of his hand on her back.

"And then there's the bow and the stern and this is the wheel." Jake placed his hand on one of the wooden spokes. He noticed Becca eyeing the door to the cabin and placed his hand on the knob pushing it open and following her though.

"And this is the cabin." He said, walking down a couple steps to the floor. Right in front of them was a full sized bed surrounded by walls on all sides. The wall on the right held some cabinets and the wall on the left had a door leading to a small bathroom.

"There's the bed and the bathroom…Here's your bag." Jake said, reaching forward unto the bed and grabbing the bag she had brought with her.

"Thanks." She said, bashfully.

"Um…I guess we can just watch some movies or something…"

"There's a TV?" Becca asked. Jake grabbed a remote and pushed a button, causing a plasma screen to pop up in front of the bed.

"Right…" Becca said, making her way to the bathroom to change.. "You know you might want to wait until we're on the bed to do that. Otherwise we won't be able to get in."

Jake glanced at the bed in front of him and noticed that the TV blocked the entrance to the bed so it looked as if there was just a giant wall in front of him. He laughed and pressed the button again, climbing on the bed and waiting for Becca to come out of the bathroom.

Becca stood inside the bathroom staring at her reflection on the full-length mirror. She was seriously starting to regret her choice of pajamas. She bit her lip as she tried to pull the silky light pink slip further down her thigh, yet, all she achieved was pulling the triangles covering her breasts lower. She should have taken her roommates advice as packed more than one pair of pajamas.

She didn't want to make the first move. In every relationship she had ever been in the guy had always made the first move toward…that. She expected Jake to do the same. She was going to change into this after he had made a move…but he didn't make a move. Now, she was standing here in the sexiest pair of pajamas she had and she was faced with the fact that she had to make the first move or sleep in her dress.

Biting her lip, she walked outside and came to a halt in front of the bed. Jake moved his eyes over her and she could see his Adam's Apple bob up and down with his hard swallow. She smiled at him and climbed into the bed next to him, trying to pay no attention to the fact that his eyes traveled directly to her chest.

"Thank you for dinner…" She said softly as she straddled his lap. Jake nodded.

"You're welcome." He said. "So…do you want to watch those movies or…" Becca shook her head slowly from side to side.

"Are you sure because…" Jake groaned as she leaned forward and started to nip and suck his earlobe. "Uhm…because…we don't um…"

"Jake…" Becca said, whispering in the ear that was pressed right against her lips.

"Yea?" He breathed as her kisses continued.

"I want you to take me – right here, right now. I'm yours."

Jake let out a guttural groan at her brazenness and flipped her over. Her words were all the encouragement he needed and all his reservations about moving too fast for her were thrown out the window. They spent the rest of the night getting to know each other in ways that, until that point in time, they had only imagined. And when the morning came they woke up in each other's arms, hoping that it would be the first of many mornings just like it.

**TBC...**

* * *

There you go guys! Hope you liked it. Don't forget to leave a review! 


	7. Above the Fold

Okay, here's the next chapter! I know some of you guys have been missing the Rogan but I promise they're in this chapter a lot more. I just really needed to get Jake and Becca together fast so I had to focus on them. Now I can focus more on the other characters. Someone brought up something in a review about the kids not wanting to talk to Logan about anything. I promise it's not a reflection on his relationship with them – except for Jake that is. Cody and Ellie get along with him fine. I don't know…I just think that kids are more likely to go to their mother with a serious problem before they go to their father, not because they don't trust him…just because it's a natural tendency. Mother's tend to be a little more nurturing and compassionate. It doesn't reflect on Logan's relationship with them.

Anyway…hope you like it. Please review!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gilmore Girls

**Chapter Seven**

**Above the Fold **

The silence that had filled the bedroom since the moment his wife settled into bed continued to rage on, making Logan more than slightly uncomfortable. It wasn't the silence that was the problem. He was used to the silence. This had been part of the routine for years. Rory would climb into bed and curl up with a book, he would go over whatever leftover paperwork he had to do or sometimes find a book himself. It' just tonight he didn't have anything to do.

He tried sleeping, but he found himself unable to relax with Rory's bedside lamp on. Also, the sound of the pages turning was far too distracting. Now, he was just sitting there, tapping his fingers on the comforter covering his lap. He didn't want to turn on the TV, incase the noise would bother his wife. He knew how important her nightly readings were to her.

He sighed, turning over and staring at his wife's eyes as they wandered form left to right over the page. Rory didn't even notice him, too immersed in whatever she was reading. He smirked, wondering if she would notice the foot he began to creep up her leg.

"Logan…" Rory said, not tearing her eyes away from the page. Logan smirked.

"Yes…" he asked.

"You're feet are touching me." She said simply, causing Logan to sigh and move away from her. He continued to stare at her for a few seconds before trying again, this time brushing his fingertips across her arm.

"Stop it…that tickles." She said, jerking away from his touch. This time Logan let out a groan and followed her, deciding subtlety wasn't going to work. He placed a kiss on her jaw and started moving down her neck.

"Logan…" Rory said. "I'm trying to read."

"I can see that, Ace." He said. "But you know what's even more fun…" He picked up her book and closed it, making sure to tuck the sleeve in-between the pages to keep her spot. Rory rolled her eyes.

"Logan, please." She said, trying to dodge his attempts to seduce her. "Not tonight. I'm tired. I just want to relax and get to sleep."

"Ace…" He whined, not breaking the hold he had on her. Rory groaned again and rolled her eyes, turning her head over to the clock on the nightstand.

"You've got fifteen minutes." She said, lowering herself against the bed. Logan laughed and moved on top of her, pausing for a moment to look in her eyes.

"What?" she asked, smiling at his amused expression.

"Nothing…" Logan said. "I'm just glad the romance in our relationship is still present after all these years." Rory rolled her eyes again, this time smacking him on the shoulder as well.

"Do you want sex or not, because you're wasting time here…" Logan raised an eyebrow.

"Aren't we demanding?" Logan asked, before complying with his wife's demands. He quickly pulled off her nightshirt started kissing down her neck, when suddenly a loud noise caused Rory to jerk up and throw her shirt back on.

"What the hell was that?" she asked. "It sounded like a gun shot…" Logan rose from the bed and slipped on a shirt and a pair of flannel pants.

"It sounded like a car backfire." Logan corrected. "I'll go check it out."

With a groan of annoyance, Logan threw on a coat and made his way down the hall and the stairs to the front door. When he opened it and stepped out onto the porch, his vision was clouded by a piece of white cotton blowing in his face. He smiled a tight smile and reached up, tearing it away from his face in order to see his front yard completely covered in toilet paper.

He was so angry he couldn't help but laugh and when his eyes set on four teenaged boys crowded around a smoking Honda Accord parked on the street in front of his house, he started walking toward them, his strides large and threatening. He stood behind them as they all crouched down behind the car, inspecting the tail pipe, none of them seemed to notice his presence. He just stood there with his arms crossed over his chest and watched them, these boys that he knew oh so well.

"Sounds like you've got a cylinder problem." He said, watching as all four heads rose up but didn't turn to face him. All but Jimmy, the owner of the car, stood up and tried to run away, only one of them succeeding. Logan grabbed two of them by the back of their shirts, preventing them from running away.

"Well if isn't Larry, Curly, and Mo." He said. "Too bad Shemp got away, we could have had a party."

"Mr. H…" The boy in his right hand's grasp greeted. "You're looking well, this evening."

"Aw…thanks, Greg." Logan said. "Do you mind telling me why my front yard is covered in toilet paper? Last I checked the bathroom was inside…" The boy to his left started to laugh nervously.

"Well you see…" he began. "We um….we wanted to let Cody know that we hadn't forgotten about him after all this time…"

"Aw, you guys really are sweet." Logan said, letting go of his hold on them to wrap an arm around each of their shoulders and pulling them close. He couldn't see the look on their faces but Jimmy' petrified gaze from the asphalt was good enough.

"I'll tell you what. I won't call your parents and tell them how you vandalized my home, leaving my son, who's currently in bed with a 102 degree fever, to clean it up, if you start cleaning it up yourselves right now."

"Now? It's one o'clock in the morning." Greg said, swallowing as Logan sent him a threatening glance. "I mean…I probably wouldn't have gone to sleep for a few hours anyway."

"Good" Logan said, giving the boys one last squeeze before letting them go and walking into the garage. He came back out with a ladder and a box of trash bags, dropping them on the street in front of the boys.

"You boys have fun. I'll just be watching from the porch if you need anything."

* * *

Sitting at her desk typing away at her latest article, Becca found herself wishing she was anywhere but where she was. She couldn't leave, she hadn't worked nearly enough on her assignment for the paper and the Editor, Mason Hughes, knew it. He had been sending her glances all morning. She couldn't help if her mind was in another place. 

Really, it was Mason's fault that she was so distracted. He had made the mistake of handing her a copy of the Daily News and telling her to congratulate her boyfriend. She didn't even have to unfold the paper to see the article she pushed him to write last week printed on the front page. She knew this was going to happen. He was so good when he tried.

She wanted to run out of there and find him right away but Mason had been staring her down all afternoon. Frankly, he was doing more harm than good. She couldn't focus on anything with him watching her like that.

"Mason…" she started through gritted teeth. "I know you're observational skills are outstanding but would you mind practicing them on someone else for a second?"

"Just making sure you're getting the job done Johnson."

"Have I ever let you down before?"

"Fine." Mason said. "I'm going to get some coffee. You better be working on that article when I get back." Becca watched as Mason slipped out the door, brushing past a familiar blond on his way out. Upon seeing him enter the newsroom, Becca launched out of her chair and ran up to him, throwing her arms around his neck and squealing in excitement.

"Wow…" Jake said, catching her as she threw herself on him and chuckling. "What did I do to earn such a nice welcome?"

"You're just you, that's all."

"Oh is that all?" Jake asked, leaning down to kiss her. Becca accepted, pulling away when the excitement got to be too much for her.

"Okay…okay…I have to show you something." She said, not able to wait another second to tell him the news. She skipped over her desk and handed him a copy of the paper, bouncing up and down anxiously as he looked over it.

"The Yale Daily News?" Jake asked. "Yes, I've seen it before. It's actually been around for decades…" Becca smacked his arm.

"Not the paper….what's on it!"

"The coffee stain?"

"Jacob!"

"Okay…okay…" Jake said, skimming over the paper until he came upon his article. "Wait…that…I wrote that…"

"Yes you did!" Becca said, her smile practically curving all the way to her eyes.

"Did you have something to do with this?" Jake asked. Becca continued to smile as she shook her head from side to side.

"Nope." She answered. "You got there all on your own, my friend."

"Are you serious?"

"I'm serious."

"Wow…" Jake said, in shock. Becca laughed and launched herself into his arms again, causing Jake to drop the paper to the floor.

"I'm so proud of you…" Becca said.

"You know…I'm kind of proud of me too." Jake said. Becca laughed and lifted her head to kiss him again. The couple stayed in their embrace, swaying back and forth until the heard the angry voice of Mason from behind them.

"Johnson!" he yelled. "Article." Becca bashfully returned to her work and Jake started to head out the door.

"Huntzberger…" Mason called, causing Jake to turn around. "Nice job."

* * *

"Logan?" Rory asked as she walked into the kitchen the next morning. Logan was sitting at the table, reading the paper and drinking some coffee.

"Yes, Ace?" He asked, peeking from behind the business section to meet his wife's questioning gaze.

"Why are there three boys sleeping in the living room?" Rory asked. Logan sighed and put the paper down.

"Well…they were pretty tired after cleaning up the toilet paper they threw around last night, so I just told them to camp out here."

"Toilet paper?" Rory asked, pouring a mug of coffee for herself.

"Yep, apparently, Jimmy, Greg, Adam, and Robbie, thought it would be funny to teepee our house so that Cody wouldn't forget them. I told them if they stayed and cleaned it up then I wouldn't tell their parents."

"Oh…" Rory said, shaking her head. "Where's Robbie? I didn't see him in there."

"He got away." Logan said with a laugh. "Maybe he thought I wouldn't know it was him. He's never been the smartest of Cody's friends." Rory laughed.

"Well are you going to tell his parents." Logan chuckled as well, taking another sip from his mug.

"No…" he said. "You know I wouldn't do that. Besides… I owe his grandfather for not ratting me out when I did the same thing to his house."

"You and Allan were friends in high school?" Rory asked, thinking back on all the times they had spoken to Robbie's father and he and Logan had been less than friendly toward each other.

"No. That was more of a hateful teepee than a friendly teepee."

"Ah…I know those well." Rory said, thinking back upon the time when she devil egged Jess' car. Logan just laughed and shook his head as Jimmy slipped into the kitchen, yawning as he sat down at the table.

"Good morning, Jimmy." Rory said. "You all tuckered out?"

"Sorry about that Mrs. H." he said bashfully. Rory laughed.

"That's alright." She said. "It happened a lot more when Jake was still living here. Don't fell bad. I appreciate you cleaning it up though."

"I didn't have much of a choice…" Jimmy said. Rory sent Logan an amused look, knowing that the boy probably had more of a choice than he thought he did.

"Well…I appreciate it anyway. Do you want some breakfast?"

"Yes please." The boy answered, suddenly a lot more chipper.

"Should I make some for your partners in crime as well?"

"Naw…" Jimmy said. "They'll probably be asleep until lunch."

Rory laughed and nodded her head, knowing that he was probably right. As many times as those boys had stayed over, Jimmy and Cody were the only two that rose before noon. Seeing her son walk into the kitchen, she suppressed a laugh. This would be yet another one of those mornings.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked his friend in a raspy voice.

"We teepeed your house…" Jimmy answered. "And then we cleaned it up."

"Dumb asses…" Cody mumbled.

"Cody Richard!" Rory scolded. "Language." Jimmy leaned over to whisper in his friend's ear.

"Now who's the dumb ass?"

"Hey, Jim." Logan said from behind his paper. "When you're done with breakfast I'll take you down to the shop to get your car looked at."

"Thanks, Mr. H but…I don't really have the money…"

"Don't worry about it." Logan said. "It's on me. You can't go around driving a car backfiring everywhere. It's not safe."

"Alright…thanks…." Jimmy said as Rory placed a plate down in front of him.

He looked between the two of them and back at Cody whose head was lying miserably on the table. As Rory walked over, kissed him on the head, and handed him a steaming cup of water, Jimmy couldn't help but think how lucky he was. Growing up in his home, he didn't think families like this actually existed.

"You're not going to tell my Dad are you?" Jimmy asked, looking at Logan. Logan lowered the paper, giving him a strange look.

"I don't have to if you don't want me to…" Logan said, a hint of confusion in his voice. He didn't understand what the big deal was.

"Um…yea…don't tell him…"

* * *

"Mom!" a voice called from the front door, breaking Rory out of her daze. She had been sitting in the kitchen reading the newspaper after Logan and Jimmy had left. 

"In the kitchen!" Rory answered, putting the paper down and turning around to see Jake enter the kitchen. He had a bounce in his step that she couldn't quite describe but it immediately brought a smile to her face. She hadn't seen him so happy in years.

"Hey you!" she said, standing up as Jake enveloped her in a hug and kissed her cheek. Rory pulled away and smiled at him. "What's got you in such a good mood?"

"Is Dad home?" Jake asked, looking around the kitchen. Rory shook her head.

"Nope." She said. "Jimmy's car backfired so he took him to the shop to get it looked at. Why?"

Rory watched as Jake's expression fell instantly. He brought a hand to his head and started scratching his hair, his once joyous expression morphing into one of disappointment.

"Oh…it's nothing…I just…I just wanted to talk to him about something."

"Oh." Rory said, cursing fate for making Logan leave this morning. For the first time in months Jake wanted to talk to his father and he wasn't here.

"It's okay…" Jake said. "I'll just talk to him at the paper on Wednesday."

"Alright." Rory said. "Whatcha got there?" Jake looked down at the rolled up paper in his hand and sighed.

"Oh…it's…nothing…I just…"

"Let me see." Rory said. Jake sighed and handed his mother the paper, not wanted to tell her before he told his Dad. He didn't want the news to leak out. He wanted to see his father's face. Count on him not to be there when he actually did something right.

"What is this?" Rory asked, unfolding the copy of the Yale Daily News.

"It's just…a copy of today's paper. That's all."

"Oh…" Rory said. "Is this what…oh my God!' Jake smiled despite his disappointment.

"It's really not that big a deal…" Rory's eyes went wide as she dropped the paper to her chest and looked at his someone embarrassed face.

"Not that big a deal?" She repeated incredulously. "Jacob…this is front page above the fold!"

"They probably just needed to fill the space…"

"They did not need to fill the space!" Rory said. "They bumped annoying girl who always gets printed above the fold below the fold and now…you're above the fold…"

"Hey…" Jake said. "Annoying girl happens to be my girlfriend." Rory just shook her head and placed the paper on the kitchen table, walking up to her son and pulling him into a hug.

"I'm so proud of you." She said, holding him close and closing her eyes. She had to force herself not to cry in front of him, she would never be able to live it down.

"Thanks, Mom." Jake said, returning the hug for as long as she needed.

"I knew you could do this if you just put your mind to it." She continued. Jake rolled his eyes, her speech seeming so cliché.

"Well I had a little help." Jake said. Rory pulled away and raised an eyebrow.

"Becca she…well…she kinda forced me to put my mind to it. The guy who was originally assigned that article got seriously sick so she asked if I would mind taking it over. Mason wasn't too keen on the idea but hey…he printed it above the fold…"

"That's because he just didn't realize how talented you are." Rory explained. "He's going to be knocking on your door non-stop now." Jake winced.

"Well…I don't know how I feel about that."

"Did I mention how proud of you I am?" Rory asked.

"Once or twice." Jake said.

"Well that's because I am." Rory said. "And I love you so much."

"I love you too, Mom." Jake said, rolling his eyes at the sappiness.

"And your father is going to be so proud too." Jake looked to the floor nodding his head solemnly. "He will be. He knows as much as I do how much potential you have. He's been waiting for a moment like this for years. You have no idea how much pride he's going to feel when he sees this."

"Yea?" Jake asked awkwardly. Rory smiled.

"Yea." She assured, knowing Logan was going to be blown away. She couldn't wait to show him.

* * *

He walked into the kitchen a few hours later, throwing his keys on the counter and walking over to his wife who was standing in the doorway to the living room with a smile on her face. Rory had been waiting for him to get home since the moment Jake had left and the second she heard him pull into the garage she had run into the kitchen so she could talk to him right away. 

"Should I be scared?" Logan asked as he looked at her. Rory smiled and shook her head, picking up the paper on the dinner table and skipping over to him.

"What's this?" he asked, taking the paper and raising an eyebrow.

"Just read it…:" Rory prompted. Logan shrugged.

"Why? It's a college paper…I have the Times on the front porch…"

"Hey!" Rory said, smacking his arm. "I edited that paper, once upon a time. There will be no bashing in my presence, Mister."

"Oh…I'm sorry…" Logan said, flipping open the page and perusing through the articles. "Why am I reading this again?" he asked. Rory rolled her eyes.

"Did you notice who wrote the articles?"

"I hadn't really paid attention." Logan said.

"Well…look…" Rory said. Logan sighed and did as his wife asked him.

"Okay….Bridgette Holmes…Parker Louis…Jacob Hu – what?"

"You're glad you read it now, huh?" Rory teased, Logan gripped the paper tighter and pulled out a stool on the island, not being able to stand on his own. His eyes were still glued to the paper in front of him.

"Is this right?" Logan asked.

"It's right…" Rory said before drifting off into silence, letting Logan finish the article that no doubt he was trying to memorize as he read.

"He wrote this?" he asked, still not looking away to meet Rory's gaze.

"Yea, he did."

"This is amazing…" he said. "Who told you?"

"Jake did." Rory said. "He stopped by the house earlier this afternoon. He wanted to show it to you…"

"Oh…" Logan said, looking just as disappointed, if not more, as Jake did before.

"I told him I'd give it to you." Rory said. "He was so happy, Logan. I haven't seen him that happy in years."

"Well he should be…" Logan said. "This is a great article. If only he'd do this for my paper…" Rory smiled.

"You should call him." She said, handing him the phone. "He really wanted to talk to you about it."

Logan smiled and took the phone, dialing his son's number. Rory smiled as she watched Logan sitting there with the phone pressed to his ear, the pride radiating off of him. She kissed Logan on the cheek before leaving the kitchen, wanting to give him a moment to talk to his son alone.

"Jake…it's Dad….Listen, I just wanted to call and let you know how proud I am…"

**TBC…**

* * *

Hope you liked! Please review! 


	8. The Tortoise and the Unicorn

Hey guys, I'm so so so sorry about the wait. I've been crazy busy this past week. But I've finally finished the chapter and I hope it was worth it. I know a lot of you have been asking for more Rogan so I hop this chapter serves your needs. It's also pretty bog for Cody as well. I had a question about who Lauren was in the last chapter. I know I didn't really explain it well so I apologize. Lauren is Cameron's wife. Cameron is Honor's oldest. He made a couple appearances in Perfect Timing. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Gilmore Girls

**Chapter Eight**

**The Tortoise and the Unicorn**

Rory hummed and leaned her head against her husband's shoulder. She smiled as she felt the arm that Logan had around her shoulder grip her tighter and his lips plant a kiss on the top of her head. She shifted on the couch, snuggling into him tighter and sighed with contentment. She had forgotten how nice this felt.

"This is nice." She said as Logan started to play with her hair. She shifted her eyes away from the TV and craned her neck to look up at his face. She snuggled back into him when she saw the smile gracing him features.

"Yea it is." He said in agreement.

"We should do this more often." Rory said. Logan laughed and she broke away from him, looking up at his amused face. "What?"

"Nothing." Logan said. "It's just…when are we going to get in more cuddling time exactly? When we're busy doing other things or when Cody and his friends are invading the living room?" Rory smiled in amusement and reclaimed her position against his chest.

"Good point." She said. "We should turn one of the kid's rooms into a living room for just us."

"I don't think that's such a good idea, Ace." Logan said. "I don't want to deal with the drama when they come home. Besides it's nice for them to have a place to sleep when they visit. I don't want to take that away from them."

"Yea…I guess you're right." Rory said. "What if we got a couch for the theatre downstairs? I always thought the single seating was a little much…"

"I like it. It's like going to a movie theatre in our house." Logan said. Rory rolled her eyes. "If anything we should wire the system so Cody can play his Wii down there. The boys would never leave that room." Rory chuckled.

"Well…you can do that." She said. "I have no idea how to work all that stuff."

"I'll do it tomorrow. We just have to make sure we keep the bar stocked with food and soda so they're not always coming up here."

"And you have to change the password on the liquor cabinet. I'm pretty sure he's already cracked the one on there now and if they're not up here I can't keep an eye on them."

"He cracked the code? Really?" Rory just laughed.

"Babe… This may come as a shock to you but…. 1 2 3 4 isn't exactly rocket science."

"I didn't put that on there!" Logan defended. "It was the default. I just never changed it."

"Well…when I went down there the other day the Bombay was almost gone…and you don't drink gin so I figured something was up."

"Was the Macallan gone?" Logan asked, his eyes wide.

"No."

"Thank God." Logan said. "If he'd drunken my stuff I might have to have a talk with him." Rory rolled her eyes and smacked her husband on the chest.

"You need to have a talk with him either way." Rory said. "Don't do anything yet though, just tell him if it happens again he'll be in trouble. He's more likely to listen if we give him the benefit of the doubt. It puts a guilt trip on him if he does it again…"

"Right…" Logan said. "I'm going to go get a drink…" Rory grabbed his arm and pulled him back on the couch before he could leave.

"No!" she said. "Stay here. I want to snuggle…" Logan laughed.

"You could snuggle with the pillow."

"I don't want to snuggle with the pillow." Rory said. "I want to snuggle with you!" Logan smiled at his wife.

"Well I might need a little persuasion." He said.

Rory rolled her eyes and leaned over to kiss him. He smiled into the kiss, bringing his hand behind her head and pulling her closer. He relaxed back into the couch, fully persuaded to stay with his wife and let Rory move to sit on his lap. She threw her arms around his neck and he hugged her to him. Slowly, they started to lower themselves into a lying position but were interrupted, once again.

"Jesus Christ!" the voice of their son yelled. The husband and wife broke apart and smiled with amusement at the disgusted look on their sons face. His hands were covering his eyes and his head was hung low.

"Don't you have a room upstairs?" Cody asked.

"Don't you?" Logan asked.

"Yea… well… I'm leaving. So I had to come down here." Rory snapped into attention, pushing her husband off of her and sitting up on the couch.

"You're leaving?" She asked. "Are you sure? Where are you going?"

"Yes. I feel fine."

"Really?" Rory asked. "Come here." Cody rolled his eyes as he walked over to the couch and his mother pressed a hand against his forehead.

"Well…you don't have a fever. But are you sure you're ready to go out?"

"Rory…" Logan began. "If Cody thinks he's okay to go out then he's okay to go out."

"But…"

"He's sixteen years old. He's capable of knowing when he's okay to leave. Besides…" Logan said, leaning forward to whisper in her ear. "I'd be nice to have the house to ourselves for the night…"

"Hmm…" Rory said with a chuckle. "You're right."

"I'm right here." Cody said, gesturing to himself. "I can hear you. Please stop."

"What?" Rory asked. "Aren't you glad your father and I are still happy and in love after all these years?"

"No." Cody said. "I'm not. I never want to witness this again and I'm leaving." Cody walked out of the living room to the kitchen and Rory and Logan started laughing.

"Hey!" Logan called after him. "How do you think you got here?"

"I'm leaving!"

"Yea! You didn't just appear out of thin air. When you get back you might have a little brother or sister on the way. Wouldn't that be great?"

"Shut up!" Cody yelled. "I'm leaving!"

"I love you!" Rory yelled, knowing he was serious that time. "Be careful. Don't do anything stupid!" She flinched as the garage door slammed and turned back to her husband.

"That was fun." She said, snuggling into him again.

"So how long do you think we have?" He asked.

"Well…his curfew is at midnight and it's eight now."

"Four hours huh?" Logan said. The next thing she knew, Rory was being scooped up and taken upstairs. She started laughing as he carried her and threw her arms around his neck.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm taking you upstairs and I'm going to make passionate love to you for four hours." He said. Rory just started laughing.

"Four hours?" she asked. Logan turned to her and gave her an offended look.

"Hey… I could go all night long…"

"Sure you could, baby." Rory said, patting his cheek with her hand. Logan just started waling faster, eager to get her into bed so he could show her that the years still hadn't hindered him.

* * *

He should have never come to this party. Cody had spent the last five minutes watching the couple in front of him with a sharp eye. As he watched them smile and laugh with each other his grip on his drink began to get tighter and tighter. When the plastic of the cup made a popping noise from the pressure, he looked down and threw the beverage down his throat.

The liquid burned as it made its way down to his stomach. He had no idea what he was drinking, just that it made the sight of Sarah and Brad across the room slightly less painful. Imagine what more would do. He turned around, tearing his gaze away from them and grabbed a shot form a near by table.

"Hey Cody." A voice called. He put the empty shot glass on the table and turned to face a small brunette who looked vaguely familiar. For the life of him he couldn't remember how he knew her.

"Uh…hi…" he said.

"I'm Alex…Alex Hayes…" she said off of Cody's confused look. His face only contorted in more confusion.

"I'm in your English class." She explained.

"Right…"

"It's been weird without you for so long…no one answers Mr. Seller's questions." The girl laughed at her own joke and Cody nodded his head, looking over her shoulder to see Sarah leaning her head against Brad's shoulder.

"Yea… I'm sure it has…" Cody said. The girl in front of him nervously shifted her weight from foot to foot. She turned around to see what he was looking at and her eyes fell upon Sarah and Brad. If possible her hands started shaking harder.

"I heard about you and Sarah." Cody whipped his head around and looked at her as if she had a third eye.

"Who told you about that?" he asked.

"Oh…um…I don't remember…everyone knows though. It's all people talked about for a while." Cody shook his head and looked away. As his head moved back and forth, he noticed the room starting to spin around him. A dull ache settled in his head and he could feel sweat starting to form on his neck.

"I'm sorry…" Alex said, wincing from her mistake. "That had to really suck…"

"No I loved it." Cody said, holding his throbbing head in his hands. "I also love it when people talk about it now…"

"Are you okay?" Alex asked, stepping in closer to him.

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You don't look so good…"

"Look I said I was fine!" Cody snapped. "Just go away please…"

"Fine!" Alex said, holding her hands up in the air and turning to walk away.

She willed the tears forming in her eyes not to fall as she strode toward her friends, ready to leave behind her crush of four months. Yet, as she turned around, she heard a thump and whipped back to see Cody stumble into a table, holding himself up to keep from collapsing. She ran up to him and moved his arm around her shoulder so that she could help him up the stairs.

"I said I was fine…" Cody mumbled

"Yea…well…I don't believe you."

Alex helped him all the way upstairs and into a spare bedroom. When Cody took sight of the bed on front of him he flopped on top of it, pushing himself up toward the pillow. As his head continued to throb, he buried it in a pillow and cursed himself for leaving his house. It's just he was so tired of being home. He felt the bed shift and moved his face out of the pillow to see Alex sitting there smiling sympathetically at him.

"Thanks…" he said. Alex nodded and tucked her feet under her legs Indian style.

"No problem. I had mono a couple years ago. I know how much it can suck. Listen, is there anyone I can call?" Cody closed his eyes and shook his head, knowing his only option would beat him into a bloody pulp if he called him. Yet, he really didn't have a choice.

"Yea…Jake…" Cody mumbled as he reached into his back pocket and threw his phone on the bed. It was amazing how such a small task could take up so much of his energy. He buried his head in the pillow again and closed his eyes, wanting nothing more than to fall asleep then and there.

By the time Alex found Jake's name in Cody's contact log, he had already fallen asleep and was lightly snoring. She threw a blanket over him and held the phone to her ear as she waited patiently for an answer.

* * *

"Salamander."

"Tortoise."

"Unicorn."

"Unicorn?" Jake asked, shifting his position in the bed and turning to look at his girlfriend. Becca started giggling and rolled into his embrace, burying her head in his chest and laughing herself.

"That's not even an animal." Jake continued, only making Becca laugh harder.

"Yes it is!" she insisted, nodding her head against his chest. "It's an animal. It's your turn."

"Fine, then. Vulcan."

"You can't use Vulcan. That doesn't count at all." Jake laughed at her again.

"If you can use unicorn, then I can use vulcan."

"But a unicorn is a type of horse…a vulcan is a humanoid species from Star Trek. At least mine is a mythical form of an animal."

"Hey, humanoids are mythical forms of humans and humans are animals." Jake said.

"It's so not the same thing." Becca insisted. Jake just laughed again and shook his head.

"God this is pathetic." He said. "I'm lying here in my bed with a beautiful naked woman in my arms and I'm playing alphabet games..."

"We could play the dirty alphabet game if you want… Axe wound…"

"Blow job."

"If you insist." Becca said with a devilish smile and a laugh. Jake groaned as she disappeared underneath the sheets and threw his head back against his pillow. He was about to surrender to ecstasy when the phone on the nightstand started to ring and vibrate. Becca's head popped back up and she looked at her angry boyfriend with a questioning gaze.

"Are you going to answer that?" she asked. Jake shook his head.

"No." he said, grabbing her shoulders and trying to push her back under the sheets. Becca rolled her eyes and reached over to grab the phone. She checked the caller ID and held it in front of his face, giving him a look that said he had no choice but to answer it.

"It's your little brother."

"I don't care." Jake said, shaking his head and trying to push her down once again.

"Stop it!" Becca said. "Answer your phone! It could be important." Jake groaned and took his cell phone, flipping it open right before it was too late.

"You better be dying or near death." Jake said immediately.

"Is this Jake?"A girl's voice sounded over the phone. Jake wrinkled his brow and sat up on the bed, wondering why someone else was calling him from his brother's phone.

"Yea this is Jake…" He said. "Who's this?"

"This is Alex Hayes, a friend of his. We're at a party and…well…he's kind of…incapacitated. He told me to call you."

"Is he sick or drunk?" Jake asked, holding his head in his hands. He knew at this point he had no choice but to drive all the way up to New York and pick him up, and get him out of whatever jam he got himself into.

"_Um…I think both…"_ Jake closed his eyes and sighed, before looking over at Becca who had a concerned look on her face.

"Tell him I'll be there in an hour." Jake said. "Can you keep an eye on him until then?"

"Yea…He's lying down in a bedroom right now. I'll just keep him there."

"Thanks. I appreciate it." Jake said before hanging up the phone and turning to Becca. He sighed.

"So…" He said. "How bout a nice drive?"

* * *

The next morning, Cody woke up on a couch in his brother's dorm. His head was still throbbing in pain and the ache in his neck from the armrest didn't seem to help matters. He pushed himself off the couch and walked over to the mini fridge in the corner of the room. He made himself a bowl of cereal and flopped on the couch, groaning as the sick feeling all over him refused to go away. It was yet another day.

"Hey sleepy head." Jake said, walking out of his bedroom and plopping down next to his miserable little brother. He ruffled Cody's brown hair and threw an arm around his shoulder.

"How you feeling?" he asked. Cody just grunted in reply and turned his head slowly to look at Jake.

"How did I get here?" he asked, his voice raspy from sleep and sickness.

"Your little girlfriend called me last night and told me you were almost passed out at a party so I came to pick you up. I would have taken you home but Mom would have freaked at the sight of you."

"What are you talking about?" Cody asked. "Sarah called you?"

"No…her name started with an A." Jake corrected. "Alice…"

"Alex." Cody corrected, the events of last night slowly coming back to him. "I forgot about her."

"Yea…well…you reeked of Captain Morgan when I picked you up, so that doesn't surprise me. You know of all the stupid ass things you've done…drinking while you have mono…that…that makes the cake."

"Shut up."

"Hey!" Jake yelled. "You better be nice to me. You interrupted a night with my girlfriend and then after we picked you up she insisted I take her home because she didn't want to freak you out if she was here in the morning."

"It wouldn't have freaked me out." Cody said. "I'm used to it."

"That's what I told her." Jake said. "But she was having none of that."

"I'm sorry." Cody said miserably. "I didn't mean to ruin your night."

"It's alright." Jake said. "You're my little brother. I've got your back. Don't hesitate to call me again."

"Thanks Jake." Cody said, looking awkwardly into his cereal bowl and moving the rainbow colored loops around with his spoon.

"Anytime, shrimp." Jake said, patting his brother on the knee and standing up. "Right now though, I need to call Mom before she has a coronary." Cody smiled as he watched Jake flip his phone open and dial their home.

"Cody?"The panicked voice of their mother sounded over the phone. Jake winced as he heard the tears in her eyes and cursed himself for not calling her last night.

"Older and blonder." Jake said.

"Jake? Have you heard from your brother? He didn't come home last night."

"Yea…he's here with me." Jake could practically hear his mother's relief across the line.

"He's with you? Is he okay?"

"Yea, he's fine, Mom." Jake said. "He called me last night to pick him up from a party. Sarah was there with Brad and he was upset. He wanted to forget about it so I picked him up and took him out to get his mind off of things. It got late so I told him to stay here." Jake lied, looking at his brother who was giving him a look of praise.

"Thank God. I thought…" Rory trailed off, unable to articulate what she had been thinking without breaking into sobs.

"I'm so sorry, Mom. I should have called last night. It completely slipped my mind."

"It's okay sweetie, just don't let it happen again."

"I won't. I promise." Jake said. "Listen, I'll have him home in about two hours alright?"

"That sounds great. Thank you so much." Rory said. "You have no idea how much your brother appreciates everything you do for him."

"Well…he would do it for me as well, I'm sure."

"He would." Rory confirmed.

"Right, well…I'll talk to you later, Mom. I love you."

"Alright. I love you too, sweetie."

Rory hung up the phone and held her head in her hands chocking back a few tears as her heart rate slowed. She turned around to see Logan standing behind her with a solemn smile on his face. He opened his arms for her and she walked into his embrace, burying her head in the crook of his neck. Logan slipped his arms around her back and held her close, rocking her back and forth to calm her.

"He was at Jake's." Rory said, gripping her husband for dear life.

"See, Ace?" Logan said. "I told you. He's just fine."

"I was so scared, Logan." Rory said.

"I know." He said. "I was scared too. But he's alright. Everything's okay, all right. Just calm down. I love you." Rory smiled and sniffed, tightening her embrace on him.

"I love you too."

**TBC…**

* * *

Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it. Don't forget to review! **  
**


	9. Ward and the Beavers

Omg! I'm so sorry about the wait. I've been sooooo busy and I know you don't want to hear excuses so I'll stop. Just know that I'm sorry and I hate to make you guys wait like that. I really love this chapter and I hope you guys do as well. I know some of you were wondering why none of the kids ever talked to Logan about anything so I think this will make you feel better. Please review! Thanks so much.

By the way, I know I did that think where I didn't reply to your reviews again and I hate myself for it. I promise I will this time. I've just been so busy and it was either respond tonight or get it finished. I'm sure most of you would rather have a story alert in your e-mail than a review reply. Just know that I'm so thankful and your reviews really keep me going. So please keep reviewing!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Gilmore Girls

**Chapter Nine**

**Ward and the Beavers**

Turning the corner to her cubicle, Becca paused and rolled her eyes as she saw a smirking blonde taking residence I her swivel chair. She should have been expecting this, after all if was Wednesday and that was when he came into the paper. But the way he was casually leaning back in her chair with his feet on her desk annoyed her. He did this every week.

"Will you get out of my chair please?" she asked pushing his legs off of her desk and walking past him to file away some papers. Jake pretended to get offended, standing up and holding his mouth open.

"I don't even get a hello?" he asked. "Is that what we've come to?" Becca laughed.

"Yes." She said. "That's what we've come to. Soon I'm going to wear flannel to bed as well." Jake groaned, stepping behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist from behind.

"Don't you dare." He said as he began swaying her back and forth. He pulled her hair off of her shoulder and started placing kisses along her neck. "I happen to like what you wore to bed last night."

"Hmm…" Becca said, trying not to laugh. "Remind me again…I seem to have forgotten." Jake stopped kissing her and shook his head from side to side.

"You're a cruel woman, Rebecca Johnson." Jake said. "How am I supposed to work now with this naughty thoughts roaming around my head?" Becca laughed again, this time pulling herself out of her boyfriends embrace and getting back to what she was supposed to be doing.

"Since when do you come here to work?" she teased.

"Hey." Jake said. "I'll have you know that I have actually been working the past couple weeks."

"Have you now?" Becca asked.

"Yes. I have. In fact, I just spent the last hour doing some maintenance on the website and I was just about to go run off some copies for Bob. I just wanted to see you first."

"Have you talked to your Dad at all today?" Jake sighed, his composure falling. Becca had a way of getting right down to business and she seemed to be focused on making their relationship the best thing since Ward and Beaver.

"No I haven't seen him." Jake said.

"Jake…"

"What?" Jake said. "Don't you realize that's good thing? The less I see my father the more he trusts me. Do you really think I'd be working this hard if my Dad had been breathing down my neck all day? He's finally giving me some space. I'm not going to screw that up."

"I'm not saying you should. I'm just saying it would have been nice of you to stop in and say hi. He is your father."

"Not here. Here he's my boss and the less I see him the better." Becca sighed and shook her head.

"I thought things were getting better between you two…"

"They are." Jake said. "Which is why I don't want to screw it up. We're giving each other space…" Becca sighed and remained silent, vocalizing her reluctance with her eyes. She suddenly smiled, and Jake knew a change of subject was coming.

"So…if you're Dad is your boss here…then what am I?" she asked.

"That would make you my co-worker." Jake said with a smile. "Actually that would make you my employee considering I'm higher up than you. After all…everything the light touches will one day my kingdom."

"Your kingdom huh?" Becca asked, wrapping her arms around his neck. Jake nodded and started backing her against the cubical wall.

"So what does sleeping with the prince get me?" she asked with a smile as the walls shook from his pushing her against them.

"Um…a really good parking space."

"Good deal." She said before kissing him. His tongue pushed its way into her mouth and hers met his as she gripped the back of his hair.

A month ago she would have died before engaging in such a brazen act of public affection. But there was just something about Jake. He pushed her to do things that she was never before comfortable doing. He didn't just push her, he made her want them.

When she felt his hand brush its way up her torso to her breast and his growing erection pushing into her, she knew it was time to bring this to an end or move it to the janitors closest. However, before she could bring it to a stop someone else did.

"So this is why you always show up to work now." A voice called, causing Becca to gasp and Jake to bury his head into her neck in embarrassment. He didn't move from his position against her and Becca knew exactly why that was. The reason was still pressed against her.

"Hey, Dad."

"What have I told you about distracting my employees?" Logan teased, in actuality highly amused by the scene before him. Embarrassing his children was always way too much fun.

Jake lifted his head to his father, about to yell in self-defense when he noticed the annoying smirk on his face. He rolled his eyes and shook his head. Too annoyed to be happy with the fact that his Dad felt comfortable teasing him again.

"You know…looking back… under these circumstances I probably would have been a lot more apt to come to my father's papers as well."

"Dad!" Jake said, finally feeling relaxed enough to push himself off his girlfriend. Logan just laughed and held up his hands in surrender, knowing full well that if Jake got mad enough about this situation he wouldn't hesitate to jump over the desk and punch him in the face.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm just kidding really. I apologize, Rebecca."

"It's fine…" she said, trying to hide the blush on her cheeks.

"Well I have work to do. You kids have fun." Logan said, beginning to walk away he turned around to face them one more time. "Just remember this establishment has a strict shirts an shoes policy."

Jake crossed his arms over his chest and Logan turned around, walking away again. His head kept shaking in amusement and he was halfway down the hall when he heard Jake call out to him again.

"You didn't say anything about pants!"

Logan turned around to look at his son and girlfriend just as Becca yelled his name and slapped him on the arm. When she saw Logan's eyes on her she immediately hid her face in her hands and went back to work. Logan smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess you found a loophole." Logan joked. "Maybe you should be a lawyer."

He turned around again, this time making it around the corner. Once he wasn't seen the smile on his face grew exponentially and his step gained an undeniable bounce. He had just talked to Jake in the office without getting in a fight. He had just teased his son without getting his head bitten off. Jake had joked with him. It was like he was in high school again. They were finally getting along.

* * *

Coming home that night, Logan couldn't wait to tell Rory about his day. She would be so happy that they were finally getting along, not only in the house but at work as well. In a few months they might really be okay again. For the longest time he thought that they were a hopeless case – just like he and Mitchum. He couldn't wait to tell Rory he was wrong.

However, upon entering the garage he noticed that her car wasn't parked in its spot and his eyebrow raised, wondering why she wasn't home. He couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He could always tell Cody…but Cody didn't understand the complexities of he and Jake's relationship. It wouldn't be the same.

He walked into the kitchen, dropping his briefcase and setting out to look for his son. Cody had been spending a lot more time downstairs lately. It seemed that the boy was finally starting to bet his virus. He had even gone out with his parents a couple times – nothing too exerting, just dinner and movies. After the party a couple weeks before he didn't want to stretch himself again.

"Where's your mother?" Logan asked his youngest as he stepped into the living room. Cody was immersed in the mind of John Steinbeck, not even pausing to glance at his father as he entered the room.

"I had a great day, Dad. Thanks for asking." Logan rolled his eyes and loosened his tie. One thing that came along with Cody's sudden burst of health was the return of his sarcasm.

"I'm sorry." He said, forcing a smile. "How was your day, dear son of mine?"

"Fine." Cody answered simply. Logan threw his head back and chuckled to himself. And the kid wonders why he doesn't bother to ask.

"Good to hear. So was mine. Your brother and I were actually civil to each other. It was fantastic."

"Sounds like it." Cody said with a bored sigh, flipping the page of his book. Logan sighed and shook his head. The one thing that was comforting about Cody's attitude was the fact that Logan knew it wasn't present because of hostility between them. It was simply Cody's nature.

"And I repeat where is your mother?" Cody shrugged and Logan walked back into the kitchen, in hopes of finding some kind of note, all the while thinking about his youngest son. He had stopped being concerned a long time ago about Cody's lack of communication. The boy had his nose in a book every time he saw him, and while it slightly concerned Logan, he figured they were fine until he started dressing head to toe in black and starting listening to Marylin Manson, or the Cure or…whoever the equivalent was these days.

It was amazing how two completely different personalities could come from the same two people. Jake and his brother were like night and day, in appearance and attitude. Jake was exactly like him at his age, something that scared the father more than he could possibly imagine, and Cody was quiet, not very social, and truthfully, completely impossible to read. Logan felt safe in saying he didn't know the teenager at all, not due to lack of trying. He just never said anything.

Logan was fairly sure that Cody and he were fine. The boy had no qualms about sitting next to him or asking him a favor. Logan's 'I love you's.' were always echoed and he never felt awkward around him. He just couldn't help the doubt that creeped up every time Cody remained silent. He couldn't help but think Cody maybe didn't want to talk to him for a reason. Rory said that wasn't' true. But how did she know?

"Your Mom's still at the office." Logan called, after listening to a message left on the answering machine.

Logan didn't receive a reply from his son and sighed. He walked to the refrigerator and opened it, finding an apple, a half a carton of milk and an old pizza box with two pieces inside.

"You want to grab dinner somewhere?" Logan asked, hoping that maybe Cody would put down his book and spend an hour with him.

"Sure." Logan's heart leapt with the triumph.

Logan and Cody had reached the restaurant in tact; however, Logan didn't seem to know if it was for the better. The boy was pushing his salad around with his fork, staring at the lettuce in silence. Logan watched him for a moment before trying to break the awkwardness that he couldn't escape from.

"So…" he started, gaining the attention of his son. "Do you have any plans for the weekend?" Logan asked.

"Not really." Cody said with a shrug. "I might go to the movies or something."

"Oh!" Logan said with a hint of excitement. "You feeling up to it?"

"Yea I think so." Cody said. "I'm just so tired of being home. I was fine when I went with you and Mom so…"

"Right." Logan said, nodding in understanding. "That's great. I just don't want you pushing yourself to early if you're not ready."

"I'll be fine." Cody said. Logan nodded again.

"So…" he said. "Do you have a date you're meeting or…"

"No…" Cody said. "I'm just going with Jimmy."

"Oh, sure." Logan said, nodding his head. Cody took another bite of his salad.

"You know…" Logan said, causing Cody to put his fork down. "I know you're hurting from what happened with Sarah but…you should try to move on." Cody just stared at him blankly and Logan cleared his throat.

"I'm just saying…you're young. You're not exactly deformed. There are a lot of girls out there. I'm not saying that you should go out and find another serious girlfriend so fast. But there's nothing wrong with going a few dates…playing the field a little. It's what you're supposed to do at this age…experiment."

"What are you saying?" Cody asked, looking at his Dad in disbelief. "I'm not interested in mindless…" He drifted off. "…never mind."

Logan twitched his eyebrows as he was once again reminded that his youngest was nothing like him. He was the male Rory in everyway.

"Well that's not what I'm saying though…" he trailed off again. beginning to wonder if he was indeed having this conversation with his youngest child. Sure he joked about this stuff with Jake but he was older…Cody was still five, wasn't he?

"Because…you shouldn't you know…I mean…you should wait a while, until…you know you're older. You and Sarah didn't… um…"

"No." Cody said. Logan almost jumped out if his chair in joy. He didn't want his little boy to grow up so fast. "At least not technically."

The joy was gone.

"Wow…that's uh…that's quite a statement. What exactly…" he stopped talking, shaking his head in discomfort. He didn't want to think about…that kind of stuff. That was almost worst than thinking about legitimate sex. He noticed Cody's body go rigid as he grabbed the sides of the table and looked around the restaurant.

"You want to talk about this right here right now?" Cody asked, looking around the restaurant. "Did Mom put you up to this? Is that why she didn't come home?"

"What? No!" Logan said. "I'm not…I don't want to _talk _I just…I was just curious… But you know…when you have – or if you ever you know, you should use something…"

"Dad!"

"Don't leave it up to the girl. You have no idea how many girls would love a child support check from Cody Huntzberger. Just because she says she's on the pill…"

"Dad! Please!" Cody said through clenched teeth. Logan looked at his son to see him covering his face in embarrassment.

"Sorry, I'm sorry." Logan said. He wracked his brain, desperately trying to think of a subject change. He kicked himself when he uttered the one sentence he knew would kill the whole evening.

"So how's you're homework coming? Are you keeping up with everything? You don't want to fall too far behind." After all these years Logan finally realized why his parents were so thoroughly engrossed with his academic life. They just didn't have anything else to say.

Cody looked at his father with somewhat annoyed look, yet, remarkably, kept from rolling his eyes. That was better than Jake ever could do, even Logan. With Ellie, however, it was the one way to get her to talk for hours. She was always a little strange.

"It's fine…" Cody said.

"That's good. Being gone for three days used to throw me off. I can't imagine…"

"Can we not talk about school?" Cody asked.

"Right. Sorry." Logan said.

Another silence erupted between them as they ate their salads and the waiter brought the main course. Cody reached across the table to grab the ketchup bottle, unscrewed the lid, and turned in upside-down, groaning when the ketchup froze within the glass container. He started shaking the bottle when suddenly a figure approached the table.

"Hi Cody." With a startled shake, the ketchup flew out of the bottle, completely drenching the fries in ketchup. Cody jumped in surprise.

"Shit!" he said, flipping the bottle over and screwing on the lid. Logan's grin went a mile wide.

"Hey Alex." His son said to the young brunette that had graced their presence. His eyes darted between the pair and he almost laughed in amusement as the girl shifted from foot to foot, tucking a hair behind her ear nervously.

"I saw you over here so I thought I'd come say hi." She said. "That and my Mom's driving me crazy so…"

"Right…" Cody said with a nod. Alex's gaze darted quickly to Logan and she smiled awkwardly. "Oh uh…Alex this is my Dad. Dad this is Alex Hayes. She's in my English Lit. Class." Logan offered his hand to the young girl who, to his delight, responded quickly with a firm handshake and a smile.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Huntzberger." She said.

"Likewise." He said, letting go of her hand.

"Okay well...I'll let you two eat. See you Cody."

"Yea…uh…see you." Cody said. Alex turned around and Cody let out the longest exhale Logan had ever heard. "I'm so fucking spastic." He muttered.

"Beg pardon?" Logan asked. Cody looked up at his father nervously.

"I said…I'm so fraking spastic."

"That's what I thought you said." Logan commented with a nod. His admonishing scowl soon turned into a smile as he glanced in direction of the young girl who was sitting at a table across the restaurant with her mother.

"She's pretty."

"Is she?" Cody asked. "I didn't notice. Want me to hook you up?"

"Whoa!" Logan said, lifting his hands in mock surrender. "Let's back off with the 'tude, man. I was just making conversation."

"Yea, well stop, okay? She already thinks I'm the stupidest person on the face of the planet. Plus, I was a complete asshole when I talked to her the other night. So she probably hates me. She doesn't need to think I have a creep for a father too."

"Creep?" Logan asked. "That's a new one." Cody rolled his eyes and bit into his cheeseburger. "Come on she doesn't hate you. She likes you."

"No she doesn't." Cody insisted. Logan chuckled and shook his head.

"Yes she does!" he countered. "Trust me, if there's one thing I know it's women and they haven't changed that much since I was your age. She likes you. She came over here, out of her way. She was smiling. She was nervous."

"She wasn't nervous." Cody said. "She's never nervous."

"She was nervous." Logan insisted. "The hair tuck was a dead giveaway. Okay… here's a little piece of advice. Girls are like snakes okay?" Cody looked up at his father in horror. Logan just laughed.

"Not like that… like… you know, you see one and you freak out but in reality they're just as scared of you as you are of them." Logan said before twitching his eyebrow. "They can also be pretty damn vicious when you piss them off…but that's beside the point."

"You need help." Cody said causing Logan to laugh again.

"Trust me." Logan pleaded. "Talk to her. Ask her out."

"And what makes you the expert on this?" Cody asked.

"Well of the two of us sitting at this table, I'm older, I'm wiser, and I'm the only one who actually had sex so… that makes me more of an expert than you."

"Dad! Please!"

* * *

Stepping into the house after dinner, Logan slapped his son on the arm as he began walking toward his room. Rory was sitting at the table eating some spaghetti and wasn't even able to utter a greeting before Logan started teasing Cody once again.

"You gonna go up an call her?"

"No." Cody said shortly.

"I think you should. I'm telling you; she likes you." Cody continued his march out of the kitchen, effectively ignoring his father.

"Goodnight!" he said.

"Goodnight!' Rory called after him in confusion. She turned to look at her husband who was walking around the kitchen softly laughing to himself.

"What was all that about?" she asked, standing up and taking her plate to the dishwasher. Logan stopped laughing and leaned against the counter, crossing his arms over his chest. He ran a hand over his face in order to compose himself.

"Oh…" he began nonchalantly. "There's a girl from Cody's English class that has a crush on him. She came to talk to us during dinner and I was just giving him a hard time about it. He refuses to believe that she likes him."

"Be nice." Rory said, rolling her eyes. Logan held up his hands in surrender again.

"Hey, I'm always nice." He defended. "I told him to go for it. He's just a little reluctant."

"Well…that doesn't surprise me." Rory said. "He's never been really good with the opposite sex and the first girl he was with broke his heart."

"Yea…" Logan agreed, becoming serious. "You know he doesn't get that from me. That's all you, my friend."

"Oh trust me…" Rory began with a heavy sigh. "I know he doesn't get it from you. I just think he's got some serious self-esteem problems."

"Well…" Logan said. "Maybe we should have him see someone…"

"No." Rory said. "He's not that bad. He's just a teenager. He'll get past it. I think he just has to live in Jake's shadow…" Logan laughed, remembering the trouble Jake used to get into at Cody's age.

"What shadow? Jake was a little monster. He's hardly an example…"

"I know that." Rory said, sighing again. "But, Logan, Cody watches people."

"Oh I know he watches people. He hardly ever says a word. He's got to be one of the most observant kids on the planet. He's not shy."

"I know." Rory said. "He's just like me. But my point is… What he saw that you didn't when Jake got into all that trouble was this glint of pride in your eye."

"What the hell are you talking about? That kid used to drive me up the wall!"

"I know, Logan. But as angry as he made you sometimes, you were always proud of him when he got into trouble. I saw it and Cody saw it. You had this twinkle in your eye that screamed 'that's my boy!' and Cody isn't like that. Cody's never produced that spark for you. He feels like he can never live up to the son that's just like you. He feels like a disappointment. And he carries that disappointment in everything he does."

"But… that's not…I'm not…I'm proud of him!"

"Well you should try telling him that someday." Rory said, walking over to him and brushing a hand over his cheek. "I'm sorry. I'm not blaming you for Cody's problems. They're not your fault. I'm just telling you what I think in hopes that you can do something about it."

"So I just started getting Jake back and now I'm losing Cody?" Logan asked with a sardonic laugh.

"You're not losing Cody. He's always felt inferior. He loves you he just… he thinks you love Jake more. You should just try and reassure him that he's wrong is all I'm saying." Logan sighed and rubbed his face.

"So does Ellie resent me too?" He asked. "Did I screw her up at all? Should I call her and make sure?"

"No one in this family hates you, Logan." Rory said, wrapping him in a hug. "Especially me." She tilted her head up and he smiled at her.

"Well I especially don't hate you as well, Ace." Logan said, kissing her on the lips. "I'm going to go talk to Cody."

"No…" Rory said, pushing him back against the counter. "Give him some space. Everything is great between you two right now. If you went up there saying these things you'd just confuse him."

"Alright…" Logan said. "You know who else things are great with right now?"

"Who?"

"Jake." Logan said with a smile. "This afternoon it was like he was a teenager again and we were getting along…"

Rory watched her husband talk about his day with a giddy smile and couldn't help but mirror ir. Maybe things were finally coming to terms.

**TBC...**

* * *

Thanks for reading, guys! Please review! 


	10. Deck the Halls with Fred and Holly

Finally! Sorry guys. I know it's been forever. I've just been so busy once again. I know a lot of you were wondering what on earth happened to Ellie and I'm happy to say she's in this chapter! However, Jake is not. He'll have a big part in the next one though. I hope you enjoy! Don't forget to review!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Gilmore Girls

**Chapter Ten**

**Deck the Halls with Fred and Holly**

"Is there anything else I can help you with Mr. Huntzberger?" a voice from behind the counter asked. Cody was taken surprise by the sudden appearance of the salesman and turned around, caught off guard, expecting to see his father behind him. When he realized the man was talking to him he shook his head, shaking off the confusion and met the gaze of the man in front of him.

"Um…no thank you. This is all." He said, placing his hand on the box on the counter. The salesman slipped it into a plastic bag and handed it to him, along with his black card and a receipt. He picked up a pen, scribbled his name and handed it back to the man.

"Have a nice day. Merry Christmas"

"You too." Cody turned around, placing his wallet in his back pocket while staring at his shoes. He took a few steps forward, accidentally bumping into someone who made a gasp as she dropped

"I'm sorry." He said, whipping his head up to the person he bumped into to see nothing there. He looked down, and noticed her bending to the floor to pick up whatever she dropped. Cody got down with her, picking up some pamphlets and handing them back to her. When she lifted her face he broke out into a smile.

"Cody, hey." She said, standing up and stuffing the papers into her purse.

"Hey, Alex. What are you doing here?" he asked. Alex started to fix her clothes and tuck her hair behind her ears.

"Oh I um…my parents told me they'd get me a computer for Christmas so…"

"You want a Mac?" Cody asked.

"Oh I don't know…" Alex said. "I'm just getting some information right now…."

"Well what do you plan on majoring in?" Alex was caught off guard. He opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. "Well it's just…if you're getting a new computer you might as well get a laptop so you can take it to school in a couple years."

"Oh right…" Alex said, knowing it was stupid to have her parents invest in two computers in two years.

"My parents have Macs and they love them. But they're journalists…if you're going into something more technical then I would stick with a PC."

"But these are so pretty…" Alex said, making Cody laugh. "I hate English…"

"You might want to stop by Dell then." Cody said. "I could help you out if you want."

"That'd be great." Alex said. "But I'm all computered out today. I was about to go to Saks just to stare, sigh, and wish." Cody twitched his eyebrows, forgetting that the store was in fact ridiculously expensive for some. He had just bought five shirts an hour ago.

"Right…" he said with a forced laugh, suddenly becoming uncomfortable and hiding the bag in his hand as best as her could.

"So what are you up to?" Alex asked, noticing the sudden change in his demeanor and hitting herself for not remembering that he was much wealthier than she was. She had a tendency to put her foot in her mouth when she was nervous. The last thing she wanted was to make him uncomfortable around her.

"Oh uh…just some Christmas shopping. I got my Mom a new case for her computer and some shirts for my Dad. I have no idea what to get my sister though…"

"What about your brother?" Cody shrugged his shoulders and smiled.

"I don't know. I'll get him socks or something." Alex laughed.

"I could help you with your sister if you want. What does she like?"

"I don't know…You're a girl." Alex rolled her eyes and grabbed his wrist, dragging him out of the apple store and walking out of the glass doors to the hustle and bustle of Fifth Avenue.

"Where are we going?" Cody asked before taking a sniff. He still wasn't completely over his sickness but he felt well enough to shop at least.

"You asked me to help you shop for your sister so I'm taking you to the one place where no man can go wrong." She dragged him down the street and Cody just raised his eyebrows, hoping it wasn't too far. The last thing he needed was to pass out in the middle of the sidewalk.

A few minutes later, Cody was slightly out of breath but tried his hardest not to show it as they came to a stop in front of a building. Cody's eyes went wide as Alex dragged him into the famous jewelry store. He had no idea where to start.

"So..." She said. "What's her birthstone?"

"I don't know." Cody said. Alex rolled her eyes.

"Well tell me something about her." She said. "It'll make this a lot easier." Cody simply shrugged again.

"She's getting married…"

"Perfect!" Alex said, taking his hand and leading him over to a section of the store.

"How do you know where you're going?" he asked.

"I come here all the time just to look. I'm a regular Holly Golightly."

"What?" Cody asked in confusion. Alex just laughed and shook her head.

"Never mind." She said as she came to a stop in front of a case holding sapphires in every shape and form imaginable, Cody peeked over the glass wondering why on earth he was here.

"She's going to need something blue you know…" Alex said, as if she read his mind.

"What?" he asked. Alex rolled her eyes.

"You really are clueless aren't you?" She asked. "It's a tradition that the bride wears, something borrowed, something blue, something old and something new. You can kill to birds with one stone."

"Right…" Cody said.

"Come on…" Alex said taking his hand again and dragging him over to the smaller cheaper selection. Cody stopped as something caught his eye making Alex turn back to him in confusion. She leaned over the case and followed his gaze to a pair of drop earrings with four light blue sapphire stones hanging down, with smaller diamonds in-between.

"How about these?" he asked. Alex's eyes went wide. For a guy who obviously didn't have much jewelry experience he sure as hell had good taste.

"They're beautiful…" Alex said. "They're eight thousand dollars…" Cody shrugged.

"So…I have eight thousand dollars….it's for her wedding right?"

"Well yea but…"

"Excuse me sir." Cody called, trying to catch the attention of a salesman. When he noticed a man walking toward him he turned his head to the left where Alex had wandered off. She was gazing into a case at a necklace and Cody made sure to take note of what she was looking at.

"Can I help you, young man?"

"Uh yea I'd like to take a look at these earrings." Cody turned his head to Alex again, noticing that she had left the case she was gazing at before to walk around the store. She leaned over the case and lowered his voice.

"And could you quickly wrap up that necklace the lady was looking at. I don't want her to see." The old man smiled.

"The Rose Double Drop Pendant?" he asked, taking the necklace from the case and showing it to him. Cody nodded and the salesmen placed it back in the case, disappearing to find one in a box. Alex came back to Cody's side.

"You see anything you liked?" he asked. Alex laughed.

"Yes but…well a girl can dream you know?"

"Sure."

* * *

"Hey, baby!" Ellie screamed from her bedroom in her little apartment in Paris, trying to get Ian's attention from the other room. She heard the TV turn off and a groan come from the living room and she rolled her eyes. 

"Yes?" his voice called as his head popped into the bedroom. His eyes went wide as he stared at the mountainous piles of boxes on the floor. "Wow…"

"Yea…can you…" Ellie started to ask as she pushed down the cover of her suitcase as hard as she could. "Can you close this?"

"What the hell did you do to this place?" Ian asked, noticing that not one of their possessions was outside a box, not even the sheets on the bed.

"I packed." Ellie said. "The movers will be here tomorrow."

"Yea but….I was planning on sleeping before then." Ian said, gesturing to the bed. Ellie looked over to the bed, the realization that she packed up their blankets falling on her.

"Oh…" she said. "Well, we'll just use the blankets in the towel closet. Oh wait…you packed those already didn't you?"

"Actually…"

"You didn't pack up the closet! Ian, why were you watching TV if you didn't finish packing? We're leaving tomorrow!"

"The closet is the last thing I need to pack." Ian defended. "I was just taking a break. We have time to pack in the morning before the movers get here. Will you calm down please?" He walked over to his fiancé, placing his hands on her shoulder and pressing down to give her a relaxing massage.

"I'm sorry, you're right. I'm sorry. I freaked out." She said.

"What's going on, babe?" Ellie sighed and leaned her head back against him letting out a groan at how wonderful his fingers felt now that she was relaxing into his massage.

"I don't know…" Ellie said. "I just want to go home."

"I know you do." Ian said.

"It's like….I almost wish we hadn't gone back for Thanksgiving. Ever since we got home I've been missing them like crazy. And Jake has a girlfriend! That girl he brought home for dinner, she's his girlfriend now and I want to get to know her. And Cody's finally feeling better and I miss my parents and…"

"Hey, hey, hey…" Ian said. "We'll be there tomorrow, Elle. Working yourself into the ground tonight isn't going to make it come faster now…did you leave clothes out for us to change into tomorrow?"

"Yes…" She said sheepishly.

"And things to cleanse ourselves with…"

"Oh crap…" Ellie said, moving toward the bathroom. Ian tugged on her arm, pulling her back. He moved his shoulders so that he was forcing her to sit down on the bed as he walked to the bathroom and unpacked the box filled with their bathing necessities.

"Our flight leaves at four." Ian reminded. "We have plenty of time to finish packing up and shower."

"I know…" Ellie said.

"Did you remember to pack the condoms this time?" Ian asked as he began to wash his face in the sink.

"Yes I did!" Ellie said defensively as she washed him rinse the soap off of his face. "Though… I don't know what makes you think you're going to be using them in the near future."

"I'm not trying to give you crap." Ian said, walking out of the bathroom and pressing a towel to his face. "I'm just telling you to relax."

"Well it sounds like you're giving me crap. I was only trying to plan ahead."

"I know." Ian said, sitting down on the bed and kissing her on the cheek. "Did I mention what a great job of packing you did?"

"No…"

"Well you did a great job packing. All the boxes are so neat and organized and they're labeled very nicely." Ellie smiled and shook her head. "But let's put the tape down for now and go to sleep."

"Fine…" Ellie agreed. Moving the suitcase off the bed and grabbing some blankets from the linen closet. "Oh no…"

"What?" Ian asked, while stripping his clothes.

"I packed up my nightgown." Ian smirked, pulling her to him and lifted her shirt over her head.

"Who says you need a nightgown?" he asked. Ellie smiled and laughed. She leaned forward to suck on his ear lobe and he groaned as he lowered them onto the bed and removed her sweatpants.

"Ian…you're forgetting something…"

"What?" he asked as he began sucking on her pulse point.

"I already packed up the condoms." She said, pushing him off of her and snuggling into the pillow. He watched her with a dazed and confused expression before reaching over to turn off the one lamp left out in the room.

"Goodnight."

Ian scoffed, a good night indeed.

* * *

"Honey I'm home!" Logan called as he burst through the garage door into the kitchen and dropped his briefcase on the ground. 

"You're in a good mood." Rory said from the stove as she placed a lid on the pan that was sizzling on the stove. Logan walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist and leaning his head on her shoulder as he peered into the pan, seeing a frozen chunk of beef beginning to thaw.

"I am in a good mood, Ace." Logan confirmed. "What's for dinner?"

"Tacos."

"Tacos!" Logan repeated happily. "I love tacos! This is just the best day ever!" Rory began to laugh at her husband, wondering what on earth had put him in such a state.

"What is going on?" Rory asked with a laugh.

"Remember that deal with Hearst I was telling you about?"

"The internet company?" Rory asked.

"The media site, right. Well it's been a drain on them for years because well… the Hearst's are just too important to keep an eye on every single company that they own. They sold it to us in a heartbeat…"

"The drain!" Rory said with fake enthusiasm. "Fantastic!"

"It was only a drain because it was being neglected. When I get in there and slap some people around it'll start bringing in cash like you can't believe. The writers are good but the editing is horrible and the layout is a mess. You don't know what the hell is going on; it's impossible to navigate. I get a new editor in there – Tom, it's about time he got a promotion – fix the layout and it's amazing. I was going to ask Jake to help with that he's great with that stuff…"

"Wait, Logan, didn't you tell me the hub was in San Francisco?"

"Yea it is but I'm not really worried about that. Tom's kids are young enough where a big move won't traumatize them and I'm going to give him a huge raise. He's gonna take it…"

"That's not what I mean. I think it's a great idea to give Tom the promotion. It's just you're going to have to go down there aren't you?"

"Yea…but don't worry I was going to wait until after Christmas – not too long though I want to see if I can't do this while Jake's still on break."

"Have you talked to him about this?" Rory asked, knowing her son wouldn't want to be dragged across the country for business.

"No not yet but he's been so great lately, I think he'll be excited. It's about time he went on a business trip with me, give him the feel of things."

"Yea but…" Rory trailed off, not wanting to upset Logan while he was in such a good mood. Yet, she couldn't stop the voice in her head telling her this just wasn't a good idea.

"Seriously, Rory, you should see him at the office. I don't even have to ask him to do things anymore he just does them."

"That's great." Rory said.

"It really is. And while I've caught him….distracted a couple times… I'm willing to look passed it due to the fact that he's doing amazing work."

"Distracted?" Rory said, suddenly turning off the topic. "What do you mean distracted?"

"He's twenty years old, Ace. His girlfriend works with him. He finds ways to get distracted."

"Well…" Rory said. "He shouldn't be…there's an appropriate place and time…"

"Which for him is nowhere and never?" Logan asked, causing Rory to glare. He rolled his eyes and continued on.

"He's gonna be great, Ace. I know it. He's…He's gonna be great." Rory sighed.

"I know he is." She said, suddenly startled by the loud sound of Logan's hand clapping together.

"So where's Cody?" he asked.

"He went Christmas shopping. He should be back anytime now."

"Damn it." Logan said. Rory laughed out loud.

"You don't want to see your son?" she asked.

"No…I would like to see my son." Logan said. "I'd just like to have my way with you first. I was hoping he'd be out all night." Right as he said it, the garage door opened and Cody walked through, placing the bags away from his parents so they couldn't see.

"Hi, sweetie." Rory called. "How'd shopping go?"

"Great." He said. "All I have left if Jake."

"You found something for Ellie?" she asked in surprise. Usually his sister was the last person he ever bought for.

"Yea…you want to see?"

"Of course." Rory said, walking over to the table where he placed down the bag marked Tiffany and Co.

"Oh….Jesus Lord almighty…" Logan groaned from behind them. Rory rolled her eyes and shook her head at him. Cody looked up at his mother in a panic.

"It's fine, sweetie. It's very nice. Your father's just being an ass, as per usual."

"Hey!" Logan called.

"Are you sure….I'll take it back…"

"No." Rory said. "It was very nice of you to think of something like this for your sister I'm sure she'll love it…now…let's see…" Rory reached into the bag and pulled out a large square box, opening it to reveal the Rose pendant necklace he had purchased for Alex.

"Oh my God!" Rory said. "Cody that's beautiful! It looks like you got something from your father after all…"

"Actually that's not Ellie's…" Cody said, biting his lip in apprehension.

"Oh no…" Rory said a panic. "This wasn't mine was it? I'm so sorry, sweetie I should have…"

"No, it's not yours…"

"Oh…" Rory said, her voice dropping in disappointment.

"Well who's is it?" Logan asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Um….actually…I got it for Alex…"

"Alex?" Logan asked, his eyes going wide.

"Wait…who's Alex?" Rory asked, whipping her head between her son and her husband in confusion. Logan's face was red and she could actually see Cody shrinking.

"Yea…she…she helped me shop for Ellie and I noticed she was looking at the necklace so I thought I'd get it for her for Christmas….her family can't afford this kind of stuff…"

"So you thought it was your responsibility!?!" Logan asked, picking up the jewelry and feeling his heart beat faster. There were so many diamonds…

"Can someone help me here….I'm still stuck on who's Alex." Rory said.

"She's a girl I know from my English class she's…"

"Oh boy…" Rory said, remembering the conversation she and Logan had the other night. Apparently, at this point, she wasn't the only one with a crush.

"Cody!" Logan yelled, running a hand through his hair. "How much did this cost?" The teenager looked to the floor and mumbled something incoherent as he swayed back and forth on his feet.

"What was that?" Logan asked again, leaning forward in an effort to hear him better.

"About four thousand dollars…"

"Four thousand…" Logan squeaked, turning around and biting his lip to compose himself.

"I spent more on Ellie!"

"Well, sweetie, Ellie is your sister…" Rory said.

"So…"

"So you don't spend four thousand dollars on a girl you hardly even know!" Logan yelled.

"You can take it out of my trust fund!" Cody defended.

"Oh, jeez, Codes…" Logan began. "If I actually took the money out of your trust fund every time you used that line you would have three dollars in the bank when you turn twenty-five."

"Fine, I'll take it back!" Cody yelled. Rory pressed her hands on his shoulders.

"No, sweetie, you don't have to take it back, alright. It was really sweet of you to do. She'll never forget this and I'm proud that I raised such a thoughtful son. It's just…next time you're going to spend four thousand dollars it would be nice of you asked us first…" Logan laughed out loud.

"I'm sorry…" He said once again.

"Just…just…" Logan stuttered. "Just go to your room." Cody sighed and looked at his parents one more time before walking dejectedly upstairs. Rory watched him leave before turning back to the necklace on the table.

"Damn that's a fine piece of jewelry…" she said.

"Well that is true… It's just…four thousand dollars." Rory rolled her eyes.

"Please, Logan. It's not like you can't afford it…"

"I know!" he said. "It just… it hurts a little is all." She rolled her eyes again, deciding not to remind him of all the jewelry he had purchased for her with his Dad's card when they were in college. She bit her lip and shook her head.

"Right now I think we have more than four thousand dollars to think about…"

**TBC…**

* * *

There it is! Hope you liked it. 


	11. The Newspaper Boys

The fast updates are back! I don't know how long they're going to last though, sorry. Haha. Thanks for all the reviews guys! I know some of you were expecting a Christmas chapter but it's not here just yet. Hang in there. Haha. Now, there's not really any scenes of Rogan but Rory and Logan are in this chapter a lot. They're just not alone. I hope that's okay. Please review and tell me what you think!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Gilmore Girls

**Chapter Eleven**

**The Newspaper Boys**

"You okay up there?" Logan yelled from his chair on the ground of the front yard. In his hands was a plate of Mrs. Leiver's Christmas cookies. She was an elderly woman who lived next door and had somehow become an extension of their family over the years. She always babysat the kids on short notice when they were younger and every Christmas and Easter she brought over a batch of her mouth-watering cookies. It was a good thing too, seeing as Rory's cookies tasted like cardboard.

"You know you could help instead of sitting on your ass and stuffing your face." Logan laughed out loud.

"That, my boy, just earned you another hour of service." He said. "You should know better than to curse at your father in the middle of a punishment."

"I'm sick!" Cody yelled, turning as much as he could on the ladder he was propped up on.

"Don't even go there…" Logan said, knowing that Cody hadn't been sick for a good week. "I haven't heard single sneeze and when I do you can get down. You're fine. You're just looking for an excuse to get out of working. This isn't even that hard."

"I don't understand why I have to do this…" Cody grumbled as he clipped the string of lights unto the house.

"Because!" Logan yelled. "You owe me four thousand dollars and you're going to pay me back the good old fashioned way. With blood, sweat, and tears. It'll make a man out of you."

"Well how much is this?" He asked.

"Well…" Logan said. "I would have paid a lighting service about eight hundred after labor and supplies. You'll get the same. And if you do a really nice job I might bump it up to a thousand, so that's a fourth of your debt erased."

"You know, Jake showed my what he got Becca for Christmas and it was almost double what I spent." Logan shook his head. The boy would never stop trying to get out of this.

"Rebecca is your brother's _girlfriend_. I was expecting a large purchase there. Also, Jake is my employee. He works for me and he earns money. Some of the money he had saved up and the rest of it he's going to pay back by coming in on Mondays for a while. You see he talked to me before he went out and bought Rebecca's bracelet and we made a deal."

"So Jake can buy his girlfriend a gift but I can't buy a girl a gift?"

"If you had a girlfriend you could buy her something! Cody you've talked to this girl three times!"

"That's not…entirely true…" Cody said meekly. "She's in my English class!"

"I don't care!" Logan said. "Bottom line, Cody, you can't spend four thousand dollars for a girl you hardly know without paying for it yourself. Your sister's gift is different. She's your sister and that was for her wedding. I'm happy to pay for that. But your friend is not my responsibility! Your friend is _your_ responsibility! If you want to keep that necklace you're going to work for it. Jake's working for his, you're going to work for yours. Otherwise, I'm sure it would look very beautiful on your mother."

"But that's not fair!" Cody yelled. Logan groaned and rolled his eyes. "Jake works for you! He actually has a job!"

"Well then maybe you should get a job until you can pay me back." Logan said. Cody whipped his head around, dropping the strand of lights in his hand and letting it dangle off the roof.

"What!?!"

"I'm serious, kid." Logan said. "If you're so hard pressed against working around the house then get off your ass and get a job."

"I can't get a job…" Cody said is disgust.

"Why not? You have two arms and two legs don't you?" Logan asked.

"Because I – Because I can't!" Logan rolled his eyes, knowing exactly why Cody was so against working. He would be given hell if he got a job, not only by his friends but also by his co-workers. A Huntzberger working in McDonalds wasn't a common occurrence and no one would make it easy for him. His ego was a small part of the equation.

"Tell you what?" Logan said. "You can work for me."

"What?"

"Yea." Logan said. "You can deliver all the papers I have to routes that currently don't have a paper boy. Saves my employees time. You'll get ten cents a paper, depending on how far your willing to drive you could make the money back pretty quick. I'd pay for your gas…plus there's all the tips people send in."

"Fine." Cody agreed, reluctantly.

"Good deal." Logan said. "I don't want you doing Manhattan though." Logan added on an after thought. "You don't need to be driving around in that traffic. Just stick to Garden City and if you want to go a little further out you can but I don't want you leaving Hempstead. I'll bring the papers home the night before so you don't have to drive to the office every day."

"Alright." Cody said with a sigh. "Does that mean I get to stop putting the lights up?" Logan laughed out loud.

"Nice try." He said. Cody groaned and tried to retrieve the fallen string of lights while keeping his balance of the ladder. Just as he managed to get a hold of it, his mother's SUV pulled into the driveway and he dropped it again, climbing off the ladder as fast as he could. Logan jumped out of his seat as well, making his way to the car and opening the backseat in order to allow a petite blonde to pop out.

"Daddy!" she squealed as she launched herself into his arms. Logan held unto her as tightly as he could, happy to have her in his arms once again. He kissed the top of her head and picked her up off the ground for a second.

"Hey, Cinderellie. I missed you." He said. Ellie pushed him away from her so that she could look up at him with a smile.

"I forgot you used to call me that." She said. Logan smiled and kissed her head again.

"Yea…well…I didn't…" Ellie smiled before pushing herself out of her father's arms and opening hers for Cody who was coming up behind Logan.

"There's my little brother!" She said. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better." He answered, bending over to hug her.

"You look like it." Ellie said. "God you're so tall. You remember Ian, right?" She asked as her fiancé suddenly appeared behind her.

"Of course…" Cody said, shaking his hand. "I wasn't that sick. It's nice to see you, man."

"Likewise." Ian said before turning to Logan. "Sir…" He began, sticking out his hand and awkwardly greeting his father-in-law. Logan accepted the shake and forced a smile, somewhat angry that his reunion with his little girl was interrupted.

"Ian." He said simply before clapping his hands together. "So you need help with your suitcase or…"

"Actually we dropped all of our luggage of at the apartment before we made it over here." Ellie answered. "The movers aren't going to be here until later tonight. They're supposed to give me a call when the plane lands."

"Well why don't you go on inside and rest. I'll get dinner ready." Rory said, ushering her family inside the house. She turned to Cody as he passed her and ran a hand over his forehead.

"Are you feeling alright?" she asked. Cody nodded.

"I'm fine." He said. Rory smiled and kissed his forehead.

"I'm just making sure."

* * *

"So Jake…" A voice called, forcing him to look up from the plate that he had been staring at for the past few minutes and looking her in the eye. This was awkward to say the least.

He was sitting in Becca's childhood kitchen, eating a plate of spaghetti, and engaging in pleasant conversation with her mother. He wasn't the meet the parents kind of guy, he never had been. He knew he was disappointing Rebecca but he couldn't help it. It had no idea what to do. First impressions really weren't his forte.

"…where did you grow up?" her mother asked. Jake swallowed his pasta so he could answer.

"Um…Garden City, New York." He said, simply, cleaning the last noodle off of his plate.

"Oh that's nice." Becca's mother replied, her eyes going wide for a split second. "Would you like some more spaghetti?"

"Um…Yes, that would be great. Thanks, Ms. Johnson." She got up from her seat and grabbed his plate smiling at him as she went.

"You're very welcome, dear." She answered. "Please call me Amy."

"I want some more, Mom!" Robbie called from his seat next to Becca. Jake looked over and smiled at the little guy, understanding why Becca had called him the light of her life on their first date. The kid was absolutely adorable.

"You need to finish your salad first." Amy ordered, causing her son to groan in protest.

"You might want to listen to your Mom, kid," Jake whispered, loud enough so Becca could her and send him a smile. "I had a friend once who refused to eat anything green. He stopped growing and they made him stay back in school. He's twenty years old, four feet tall, and still in the third grade."

"Nuh–uh." Robbie said.

"I swear." Jake said, putting his hands up in the air. "I just talked to him the other day. I had to help him with his long division." Robbie twitched a lip, not entirely believing the story that was being feed to him. However, he decided to bite into his salad just in case. Becca smiled and mouthed a thank you to her boyfriend from across the table.

"Here you go, Jake." Amy said as she placed another full plate of spaghetti down in front of him. Jake thanked her and bit into the dish. "So New York? That's nice. What do your parents do?"

Jake cast Becca a look from across the table and she looked down to her lap, making him realize that she hasn't told her mother anything about him other than his first name.

"Um…well my mother's a columnist for the New York Times and um….my Dad is the CEO of his company."

"Oh!" Amy said. "That's impressive. Is it any company I've heard of?"

"Uh…probably." Jake said. Amy was looking across from him with an intrigued look on her face and Becca had yet to look up from her lap. "Huntzberger Publishing Group." Amy's face went blank.

"Your father is Logan Huntzberger…"

"Well that's what my Mom's been telling him all these years…" Jake said, trying to break the heavy mood. His humor didn't help. Becca simply looked up and glared at him. He shot her a look in return, silently asking her why the hell she let him walk into the lion's den unprepared.

"Rebecca Johnson!" Her mother yelled, causing her to look down at her lap again and close her eyes. She knew this speech was coming. Jake sat there surprised, thinking that the interrogation was going to be focused on him.

"Mom please…" she said weakly. Jake took a bold move and leaned over to Robbie, whispering for him to go up and play in his room. The boy did as he was asked, leaving the adults in the kitchen by themselves.

"How could you do something like this?" Amy asked.

"It's not what you think…" Becca defended.

"It's not?" Amy asked. Becca shook her head. "So you're not sleeping with your boss' son?"

"Whoa…" Jake said quietly, not thinking the conversation with her mother was going to go there.

"I am! But not for the reasons you think!"

"And what am I thinking, Rebecca?" Amy asked, her daughter was silent. "I'll tell you what I'm thinking. I'm thinking that's it's mighty convenient that you're so involved with a boy that might make every dream you ever had come true without making you lift a finger. He's got enough money in his pockets to ensure that you don't have to worry about student loans or wanting for anything. He's a one way ticket to a job with Mr. Huntzberger's paper the day you graduate."

Jake looked across from the table to see his girlfriend in tears, violently shaking her head back and forth to tell him it wasn't true. Of course, he knew that already.

"That's not true!" Becca yelled in defense. Jake was surprised that she had the composure to speak clearly. She looked an absolute mess.

"It's not?" Amy asked with a scoff.

"Okay well…It's true." Becca admitted. Jake's eyes went wide and he fell back in his seat, his heart beginning to shatter into pieces.

"But that's not why I'm with him!" she quickly amended. He had never known how wonderful relief could feel until this moment.

"Oh please, Rebecca." Amy said. "You haven't been involved with someone for years and now suddenly that you've met Jake Huntzberger you're ready for a relationship. There's got to be a huge reason why."

"There is!" Becca insisted.

"Yes, there is. His Daddy can make or break you!"

"No!" Becca yelled. "I love him!"

The kitchen went silent and Jake could swear his heart stopped beating. What was he supposed to do? What was he supposed to say? Should he say anything at all? He watched Becca as she sobbed in the chair across from him, her shoulders shaking up and down rapidly. He moved to get up out of the chair but she lifted a hand.

"No." She said, making him sit back down. "Just…don't.. just leave…okay. Please, just leave."

"What?" he asked, his heart falling once again. Didn't she just say she loved him and now she was kicking him out of her house?

"Leave! Okay, leave!" Becca launched herself out of her chair and ran out the back door of the kitchen. Jake got up to follow her but her mother stopped him.

"Don't." She said. "She's going over to her friend Lacey's house. You should just go."

"But…"

"Just give her time." Amy said. "I'm sorry…I…I'm really sorry."

"It's okay…"

"No it's not…I…I'm just sorry. Her father and I, we…I just don't want her to make the same mistakes I did."

"Right…" Jake said. "I'll just go. Thanks for dinner. It was great."

Jake slowly walked out the front door in a daze, wondering what the hell just happened. All he knew at his point was that he had nothing to do all night and going home all by himself didn't sound very appealing.

He slipped into his car and whipped out his phone, dialing a number he hoped he would receive an answer from. Looking at the clock, he bit his lip, hoping that nothing was delayed.

"Hello?" A voice answered, Jake could hear laughter over the line and suddenly had an incredible urge to join in, something he hadn't felt in years.

"Hey, Ellie." He said. "You think Mom has any dinner left over for me? I'm still kinda hungry."

* * *

Maybe it wasn't Christmas just yet, but everything about that night was screaming Merry Christmas at him. His whole entire family was gathered in the living room, plus one, considering this would be the first year Ian would be gracing them with his presence.

The tree and the flickering fireplace where lighting the living room and casting a cozy glow unto the family. Jake leaned back on the couch, smiling at the stories going around in circles and the general happy atmosphere. This didn't happen often. In fact, he was having a hard time remembering the last time that it did.

When Ellie moved out of the house, it became a rare occurrence for the whole family to be together under one roof at the same time. When they were, it was usually a holiday when not only them, but dozens of other people were crammed into the house as well. He couldn't remember the last time everyone was in the living room, talking and laughing like this. When he moved out it only got worse.

Though he couldn't help the feeling that maybe the reason everything got so much worse when he moved out was due to the fact that he simply didn't come home anymore. His problems with his father had made the thought of stepping into his childhood home more than unpleasant and right now he was almost nauseous at the idea that perhaps the reason he couldn't remember the last time this happened was because he had missed it.

With all the nights Ellie had spent at the house while she was visiting moments like this must have come all the time. Yet, he simply wasn't there to experience them. He had let his stubbornness and his reluctance to confront his boss get in the way of his desire to spend time with his father. Maybe his Dad wasn't the only reason they were so screwed up.

A round of fresh laughter broke him out of his thoughts.

"We couldn't keep a nanny because you and you're brother were little monsters." Logan said to Cody after he'd made a comment about switching nannies every week. "The worst though was Rachel. She was being sexually harassed. I had to convince her not to press charges."

"Wait." Jake said. "Rachel…wasn't she the last nanny we had? The one right before I got my license?"

"Yea that was her." Logan said. "I wouldn't really call her a nanny though. She was just there to drive you around. And after her we decided to stop. You had your license and at that point you could take care of yourselves if you needed anything and I didn't want to go through that again."

"I still don't understand why you wouldn't just let me drive them around…" Ellie said, causing Logan to laugh out loud.

"Because you wouldn't have!" He said. "Plus you have poms after school almost everyday." Ellie shrugged and leaned into Ian's embrace.

"Come on, Dad." Jake said. "You can't be mad about Rachel. You saw her. She was hot."

"That doesn't give you the right to rip open the shower curtain while she was inside."

"It was an accident! I didn't know she was in there." Jake defended, the grin on his face a mile wide. He couldn't help the slight blush creeping into his cheek at the picture of the memory. And then a strange feeling rose in the pit of his stomach, something akin to guilt. Without thinking he flipped his phone open and saw that there was still not a call or a text from Becca. His heart fell in his chest.

"Accident my ass." Logan said. "How do you not know someone is in the shower? The running water and the steam didn't tip you off?" Jake snapped his phone shut and placed it back in his pocket. He grinned again and shrugged his shoulders.

"You've said yourself I have a tendency to be slightly absent minded." Jake said. "Besides you say this like it's some huge scandal. She was only three years older than me and she'd been trying to get me in bed since the day she started working."

"Jacob!" Rory scolded.

"It's true! Why did you even hire her in the first place?"

"She was one of my interns. She needed extra money and toting around two teenage boys shouldn't be that hard of a job. It's not like she had to babysit you. All she needed to do was watch TV until you needed a ride somewhere." Logan said, defending his reasoning for hiring the young girl. "Besides I thought you'd like someone you could relate to a little better. You always complained when I hired someone much older than you."

"Well…" Jake said. "She was trying to relate to me, that's for damn sure. She was trying to work her way up the newspaper ladder by working her way into my pants. But…when she thought she could press charges against me I guess that was good enough."

"Well…I did have to bribe her. So perhaps you're right but for any reason that's why we never hired anyone else. We always had a scandal to deal with."

"I liked Gracie." Jake said randomly, causing his parents to look at him in confusion.

"Gracie?" Rory asked. "I'm surprised you even remember her." Jake shrugged.

"She was nice." He said. "She made me cookies."

"Oh!" Ellie exclaimed. "The sugar cookies with the icing and the sprinkles. She had little ballerina cookie cutters she would use for me."

"Mine were dinosaurs." Jake said happily.

"Who's Gracie?" Cody asked from the couch.

"She was the nanny we hired while I was pregnant with you. I was bed rest for a while so I couldn't keep an eye on your brother and sister. And when I started working and needed someone to watch you guys she was already scooped up by another family."

"Oh…" Cody said.

"We went to her wedding but you were only about nine months old at the time."

A short beeping coming from Jake's phone interrupted the conversation. He jumped up, flipping it open to see a text from one of his friends and his heart fell even further. He was getting a little sick of this. Why he was waiting was beyond him. She should be the one waiting for him to call. She was the one who threw a giant bombshell at him over dinner. He got up and left the room, walking into the kitchen and flipping the phone open to dial her number.

"_Hey this is Becca. I can't come to the phone right now so - "_Jake hung up and threw his head back in disappointment.

"Watcha doin?" His sister asked as she sneaked up behind him, sensing that something was wrong. Jake sighed and smiled, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

"Nothing." He answered, leading her back into the living room.

**TBC….**

* * *

There it is guys! I hope you all liked it! Don't forget to review!


	12. Brotherly Love

I can't even being to tell you guys how sorry I am right now. I know I've been taking forever lately but I've just been so incredibly busy. If this ever happens again please don't hesitate to private message me and ask what's going on. Personally I hate it when authors write notes in the form of a chapter so I don't want to do that to you guys but I will tell you what's taking so long if you ask. Anyway. Here the next chapter I hope you enjoy it.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Gilmore Girls

**Chapter Twelve **

**Brotherly Love**

Ellie walked upstairs, guiding herself slowly to her little brother's bedroom where she was sure to find him. After finding him in the kitchen last night he had been uncharacteristically quiet all evening. Even her father, who was oblivious on a good day, had asked her if she knew of any reason why Jake was acting the way he was. It just wasn't like him at all. Finally reaching his door, she paused and took a moment to tap her fingers against the wood lightly.

"Jake? Are you in there?" She didn't receive an answer and after standing for a minute in silence she decided to just walk inside. She found him sitting on the floor, sorting through some old stuff sitting on his bookshelves.

"Hey." He greeted without even turning his head to look at her. She smiled softly and walked over to him, taking a seat on the floor next to him.

"Hey. Whatcha doin?" Jake grabbed some DVD's and placed them into a box that was on the floor next to him.

"Just getting some stuff." He paused in his explanation to look around his bedroom with a strange look. "I haven't been in this room in forever. Thanksgiving was the last time I set foot in here and I only was in here for a second…I forgot how much stuff I had in here. Every time I came home it was because I was forced to and I only stayed long enough to eat dinner and leave."

"Yea I know…" Ellie said. "I missed having you here when I came home. Remember how we used to lock ourselves in here for hours and just watch movies all night…"

"…and Cody would sit outside the door all night begging to come in." Ellie started laughing, remembering the whining sounds of her little brother's voice. Jake laughed along with her.

"And we told him that in order for him to come in his vocal range had to switch from soprano to tenor." Ellie continued to laugh.

"And when he tried to defend himself he let out a crack that could have rivaled Peter Brady." The siblings laughed for a moment longer before the mood suddenly turned somber. "Things have really changed since then haven't they?" Jake nodded.

"Yea…I guess they have."

"You and Dad seemed to be getting along tonight." Ellie said.

"Yea…things are slowly getting better between us." Jake's mind moved to Becca, the sole reason why he and Logan had been doing so well lately. His heart dropped as a picture of her face from dinner flashed into his mind. "I don't know how long that's going to last though."

"Are you okay?" Ellie asked. "You've been acting funky all night and then you go and say things like that. Did you and Dad get into another fight that you're not telling anyone about or something?"

"No." Jake said. "It's nothing like that. I don't know what's going on really. I guess I'm just confused."

"About…" Ellie prompted. Jake sighed.

"Becca told me she loved me."

"What!?!" Ellie asked. "Jake that's great."

"Well she didn't tell me as much as she screamed it at her mother while I was in the room and then ran out crying once she realized what she'd done."

"Oh…" Ellie said softly as she watched Jake grab even more objects from his shelf. He smiled wistfully at a copy of Hamlet that he must have accidentally stolen from Andover when he forgot to return it to his English teacher.

"Oh well…at least my life doesn't suck as much as his…"

"No…that's true…" Ellie said.

"But now she won't answer my calls or my texts. She's probably thinking about how I'm totally not worth all this bullshit." Off of his sister's confused look he decided to clarify. "Apparently her mother hates me because I'm a Huntzberger."

"Bitch…" Ellie muttered, having gotten plenty of snide remarks made behind her back due to her surname as well. Jake shrugged.

"This just wasn't how I had imagined this stage I our relationship to go." Jake explained. "I wasn't really expecting this stage at all I mean… It's really early. It's only been like a month you know? I mean…it was weird for me to think about just…._liking_ her. I don't think I love her yet. I think I could love her…someday…."

"Well why don't you talk to her about this then?" Ellie asked, careful to mind her tone.

"Because she won't answer my calls!" Jake snapped. "I don't get this. I mean…she's the one who says this just…out of nowhere and then she just…runs off leaving me in the dark, completely lost."

"Well this can't be easy for her, Jake. Think about this. She obviously said it in the heat of the moment and she probably regrets it." Jake looked over at his sister and raised an offended eyebrow. "I don't mean it like that. I just mean… She's probably thinking the same thing you are. It's too early. Your relationship is just starting and, although she feels this way, she was probably going to wait a while until she told you about it. She was probably gong to wait until you were ready. Now she probably thinks that she completely freaked you out and that you want nothing to do with her."

"That's not true!" Jake said.

"But she doesn't know that." Ellie defended, trying desperately to convince her brother that his girlfriends behavior wasn't about something he did but rather her insecurities.

"Well she would know that if she would answer my calls!"

"Just give her time. Let her wrap her head around things and figure out what she wants to do."

"Yea…okay…" Jake said reluctantly, throwing yet another DVD into the box at his side. The brother and sister both turned their heads at the sound of their mother tapping on the door. Rory smiled at them and turned to Ellie.

"Just thought I'd let you know that you've left Ian alone with your father down in the living room…"

"Oh shit…" Ellie said, getting up off the floor and bolting down to the living room to save her finance from a fate worse than death.

Rory smiled in amusement and shook her head as her daughter whizzed past her. Her smile soon turned into a frown, however, when she caught hold of her little boy packing up his things. Soon he wouldn't even be living in a dorm anymore. He'd have his own place and this really wouldn't be his home any longer. With Ellie getting married, Cody being a senior next year and Jake in college she felt as if her babies didn't need her anymore.

"Hey, Mom?" Jake asked, startling Rory out of her thoughts.

"Yea?"

"Is it alright if I sleep here tonight? I'm too tired to drive all the way back to New Haven." Rory smiled wistfully.

"Of course, sweetie, anytime."

* * *

"So…" Logan said, leaning forward in his chair and nursing a glass of scotch as his gaze pierced into Ian. The young man was sitting in the same position on the couch across from him, his knees bouncing with anxiety and unease. Logan smiled at him, a gesture that raised his nerves instead of soothing them, and placed his drink on the end table.

"Your family won't be missing you for Christmas?" He asked, watching as the boys face twisted into a scowl.

"I highly doubt it." Ian answered. "Ellie is more my family now than they had ever been." He instantly regretted that statement as he watched his future father-in-law's face harden.

"Mmhm…" Logan mumbled. "So what does your father do, Ian?"

"Uh… Parliament…" Ian commented vaguely, casting his gave down to the carpet so that he wouldn't see the look of realization dawn upon Logan's face.

"Wait… He wouldn't happen to be Lawrence Cromwell? Wasn't he in the running for Prime Minister a while back?"

"Uh yea…yep… that would be my Dad."

"Wow…" Logan said. "I take it you don't get along then?"

"Yea…well… he wasn't too happy when I announced that I was going into medicine instead of following in his footsteps…"

"Well what about your mother? Surely she'll miss you over the holidays." Ian sat back in the couch as a haunted look passed over his face.

"My mother died actually, when I was fourteen." Ian said. "And I doubt my step-mother will miss me at all. She's trying her hardest to bump my sister and I out of the will. As of right now I'd say she's pretty successful – with me at least."

"Oh…I'm…I'm sorry to hear that." Ian shook his head, dismissing Logan's guilt for bringing up a sore subject.

"It was more of a blessing really, when she died. She had Bone Cancer and she was in a lot of pain toward the end. The last few months she was alive she was on so much pain medication that it was as if she was already dead. My mum just wasn't really there anymore, you know?"

"Yea…I know…" Logan said, thinking back to when his mother was going through something very similar.

"My father kept my sister away from her around that time as much as he could. He didn't want us to remember her like that. At the time I was angry with him but looking back I'm grateful. I'm glad the last memories I have of her was when she had a smile on her face." Ian smiled solemnly. "I think her death is one of the reasons I wanted to go into medicine."

"Yea I…"

"Hey, guys!" Ellie said cheerfully as she bounced into the living room and took a seat next to her fiancé. She placed a hand on his knee and he covered it with his own, squeezing her fingers together in a loving gesture. She smiled at him and kissed him on the cheek before glaring at her father.

"Hope I didn't miss anything good." She continued, her gaze still piercing into Logan's. Logan sent her an innocent look.

"Ian was just telling me about his family. He didn't really get into detail the last time he was here."

"Uh-huh. Sure." Ellie said. Ian, sensing the tension in the air, stood up and kissed her on the cheek.

"I'm going to go take a shower." He said.

"Okay. I love you." Ian was about to respond but stopped when he threw a glance to Logan and suddenly became very nervous once again. He muttered a quiet 'yeah' instead and made his way back upstairs, hoping to get away. Once he was gone Ellie turned to her father with a look that could kill.

"Will you stop it!?!" She yelled. Logan threw his hands up in defense.

"Stop what? I was talking to him! You want me to stop conversing with the boy completely?"

"Yes!"

"Ellie - "

"Why are you so mean to him all the time? What did he do to you? Why can't you just get along? I'm going to marry him. You'd think that would be enough of a reason for you to make an effort."

"I was making an effort." Logan said. "You, young lady, need to stop jumping to conclusions. Ian and I were having a very civil conversation about his family. He told me what his father did for a living he told me about his mother's death. I was very sympathetic. I wasn't judgmental at all. Frankly, I'm a little offended that you would just assume the worst from me."

"Well past experience says that you'll be mean. It hurts when you tear apart every boy I bring home. It's like you don't trust me at all."

"Well you know what, Ellie?" Logan began. "It hurt me when you decided not to tell me that you had a serious boyfriend with whom you were considering marriage. Do you have any idea how it felt to stand in that airport and be introduced to him for the first time? Your mother knew who he was and knew how serious you two were, even Jake and Cody knew. I was completely thrown for a loop. I didn't even know you were dating anyone let alone living with someone. And then not only did I have to adjust to the fact that you had a boyfriend but you had a fiancé."

"I wanted to tell you. I did. But I was scared. I was scared that you would want to meet him and that you would scare him away like you had everyone else. I love him so much, Daddy. I wouldn't be able to cope if he left so I didn't tell you. And then things just got more and more serious and it got harder and harder to tell you because I knew that you would be upset that I didn't tell you before so I kept putting it off and when he proposed…"

"Ellie…" Logan said, getting out of his armchair and sitting down next to his teary-eyed daughter. "I know I have a bad habit of intimidating your boyfriends…" Ellie glared at him through her tears and Logan altered his sentence. "…of…terrifying your boyfriends…but… You're my little girl and I love you. I know what goes through the minds of all these boys and I just want to protect you… I don't want you to…. be pressured into anything that you don't…aren't…uh…" Ellie rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"Daddy…" she said slowly meeting his eyes and giving him a serious look. Logan prepared himself for what he knew was coming next. He just didn't want to hear it.

"I haven't been a virgin since my senior year." Logan took a deep breath and nodded his head. "I wasn't pressured into doing anything I didn't want to do, either. I'm not a little girl anymore. I'm engaged. I live with my fiancé. You knew I was having sex. You're not stupid." Logan sighed.

"Sweetheart there's a difference between knowing and _knowing_." Logan said simply. "I would have been happy to stay in my world where I kind of knew but was able to stay in blissful denial due to lack of proof." Ellie let out a breath of a laugh and smiled up at her father sheepishly.

"Sorry."

"It's okay." Logan said. "Look, it's not that I don't like Ian. If you want my personal opinion of the kid, I would have to say that I think you picked a good one. He's a nice guy, very polite, well mannered, respectable… I like him. I do." Ellie shot her father a disbelieving look.

"I'm just going to have problems adjusting to the fact that I'm not the number one man in your life anymore. That's hard for me to do, baby. I doesn't matter how much I like Ian. It's hard for me to deal with the fact that instead of running into my arms when you're crying, you're going to run into his. I'm jealous. I feel like his taking my little girl away from me."

"No he's not, Daddy." Ellie said, wiping the tears off of her cheeks. "Cause if he ever breaks my heart, I'll run crying into yours." Logan smiled and opened his arms. Ellie leaned into them immediately and rested her head against her father's shoulder as he held her tight, rocking her back and forth ever so slightly.

"I love you, Cinder-Ellie." Logan whispered.

"I love you too, Daddy." Logan squeezed her one last time before letting go and standing up, trying to shield his wet eyes from her.

"Ok well… I'm going to go find your mother." He said before turning the corner and walking up the stairs.

Ellie shook her head after him and stood up herself, making her way to her bedroom where Ian was just throwing on a bathrobe, getting ready to step into the shower. He turned and smiled at her upon her entry and grew concerned as he saw her tear-filled eyes.

"Hey…what's wrong?" He asked. Ellie sighed and smiled.

"Nothing… I'm just being a girl. I'm fine." She said.

"Are you sure? You look sad." Ian pointed out, walking over to her and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"I'm a little sad…" she admitted. With her face buried in his shoulder she wasn't able to she the smirk form on his lips.

"I know what can cheer you up." He said.

"Hm?"

"A nice warm shower…" Ellie lifted her head off his shoulder and looked up at him in confusion.

"But I thought you were just about to go take a shower…" Ian tried to hold in a laugh as he nodded his head up and down. His smile grew wider as he saw her face morph with realization.

"Oh! I get it now…"

"Good, I'm glad…" Ian said as he pushed her toward the bathroom and captured her lips in a kiss. He stopped abruptly at the door and ran back into the bedroom, searching around the room for something and leaving Ellie there confused.

"What are you doing?" she asked. Ian grabbed something out of his suitcase and turned to her, holding up a small square wrapper.

"We're not forgetting one of these this time…" Ellie simply laughed and walked to the bathroom with Ian running on her heels.

* * *

Cody sat in front of his computer, staring at the screen in front of him like a zombie. He'd been staring at the same thing for what felt like hours now, sometimes building up the courage to move his mouse closer to the goal but he had yet to actually reach it. Little did he know that someone was standing in his doorway with his arms crossed, looking upon the scene and shaking his head.

"You know you have to click on one of the options or the screen will just stay like that forever…that is until the screen saver comes up." Cody jumped and moved his body so that he was blocking the screen in front of him. Jake rolled his eyes and walked into his little brother's room.

"I already saw it, dumbass." He said. He walked behind Cody's shoulder and took the mouse, maneuvering the pointer toward the 'add' button.

"No!" Cody shouted, pushing his brother away.

"What? Don't you want to friend…" He trailed off, reading the name on the side of the picture. "..Alex Hayes or not?"

"No!" he repeated. Jake laughed and pushed his brothers chair far away from the computer, taking control. Cody bolted out of his chair and tried to keep Jake from doing whatever it was that he was going to do.

"I think I'm going to friend her then." He said. Cody continued trying to fight him, pulling and pushing as his arm and trying to turn off the computer at every cost, but Jake still held the upper hand. He logged off of his little brother's Facebook account and logged into his, searching for the name of the girl his little brother was obviously smitten with. Without a moment's hesitation he sent her a friend request and watched Cody's face fall in horror. Jake couldn't contain his laughter as he stepped away.

"No!" Cody said, running to the computer and looking around in panic. "How do I undo it? I have to undo it!" Jake just continued to laugh and Cody slipped into a blind rage. He flung himself at his older brother and knocked him down to the floor.

"You fucking asshole!" He screamed. "I can't believe you just did that! She's going to think I'm stalking her now or something!"

"Get the hell off me you little pussy. It's not my fault you're a pathetic little dickhead. You're an easy target." Cody punched his brother in the stomach, causing him to groan in pain and fill with anger. They hadn't fought like this in years and Jake was determined to show him that he still had the upper hand. "Dead leg!" He shouted before slamming his fist into the side of Cody's thigh causing him to hug his leg to himself in pain. Jake pushed himself off the floor and brushed himself off.

"What the hell is going on in here!?!" An angry voice asked from the doorway. Both boys turned to see their father staring at them red-faced. "Jesus Christ, you two! You're adults. Act like it!"

"He attacked me first!" Jake yelled.

"I don't care who started it. End it. Now!" Logan yelled before leaving his two sons and walking back to his bedroom.

Cody glared at his brother as he lifted himself off the floor. As he tried to stand up his numb leg buckled under his weight and he hopped over to the bed. Jake rolled his eyes.

"That's the point of a dead leg, dumbass." Jake said, flopping down in a near by foof chair. "So who's Alex Hayes. Is she your _girlfriend_?"

"Shut up! She's just a friend. Though I don't know how long that's going to last now that she knows I have a creepy stalker older brother who has a habit of friending illegal teenage girls who are four years younger than him." Jake laughed.

"I only friended her so I can write her messages about how much you love her and show her compromising pictures of your childhood."

"You wouldn't." Cody said. Jake simply smirked. As Cody looked as if he was about to cry Jake rolled his eyes.

"No I wouldn't do that. I'm not that mean." Jake said. "So why don't you just ask her out?"

"Because…I…" Cody drifted off. "What if she says no?" Jake rolled his eyes.

"Wow. You're really terrified of rejection aren't you?"

"No!"

"Cody, you couldn't even friend her on Facebook because you were afraid she'd say no. I'm friends with people on Facebook that I don't even know!"

"Well…" Cody said. Jake stood up and walked toward the door.

"Look if she says no, she says no and you have the same result as you would have if you don't ask her, so you've got nothing to lose. If she says yes then maybe you'll stop being pathetic and won't actually die a virgin."

"You don't live here anymore! Go home!" Cody yelled.

"I'm sleeping here tonight, shit-face."

"Then get out of my room, asshole!"

"I'm on my way, Poopface."

"Poopface?" Cody asked.

"Shut-up…" Jake said weakly as he walked out the door to his brother's room. Once he was gone Cody allowed a small smile grace his features as he thought about his brothers words.

Nothing to lose.

Taking a deep breath he prepared himself to walk over to the computer. He threw his legs over the bed and stood up, forgetting for a moment about his sore leg. As he rose, he instantly winced and limped over to the desk. For some reason his brother's advice always came with a price.

**TBC…**

* * *

There it is guys. Once again I'm so incredibly sorry about the wait. I hope you liked it. Please review. 


	13. Christmas Time is Here

Cue the triumphant music!! It's here!! A brand new chapter after months and months of waiting! Doesn't it just make it that much better? Haha…. No….I know you all probably hate me. Words can just not describe how sorry I am. The thing is, I just don't have time anymore. My major is extremely demanding and I simply cannot come home at the end of the day and write like I used to. Plus I've had writers block like crazy which really doesn't help. I've promised myself that I am going to finish all of my stories no matter how long it takes and, sadly, after that I probably won't write much anymore. But I swear to you guys that I am going to try my absolute hardest to finish them. It's just going to be slow going. Perhaps once summer roles around I'll have a little more time. Until then there are going to be some waits.

On a completely different note someone has graciously offered to beta my other stories and they are going to be reposted squeaky clean of all those annoying little typos and things. Kissmet should be up very shortly. Also, to make up for my serious lack up writing I've thought about maybe posting some comic illustrations on Deviantart. Holler if you'd like to see something like that. Anyway, that's the last of the notes. Thanks to all my reviewer and people who stuck with me during the wait.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gilmore Girls.

**Chapter Thirteen **

**Christmas Time is Here**

It was a Christmas miracle, Logan deduced as the never-ending buzzing of the vacuum cleaner had finally come to an end and his house was once again filled with the wonderful sound of silence. His dream of a nice quiet Christmas morning was crushed when at eight o'clock his wife had woken in a frenzy and begun the preparations for the annual Christmas party they were hosting at their home in just a few hours. As of now it was only ten o'clock and Logan had to force himself out of bed to take a shower and get ready to work before Rory decided to kill him in his sleep. At least now that the vacuum was finished he felt like he was regaining some sanity.

"LOGAN!!" He groaned as he slipped a sweatshirt over his still wet head and called back to his wife's angry tone.

"WHAT?" he yelled downstairs.

"You're supposed to pick up the ham from the butcher in five minutes!! I don't know about you but I'd like to actually eat dinner tonight!" Logan rolled his eyes. He found it amazing that her voice hadn't already gone out form screaming this morning. They had been going to this butcher every Christmas for years. The owner was a middle aged Jewish man who always stayed open on Christmas morning so he could give his clients the freshest meat possible.

"I just got out of the shower, dear." He yelled back as calmly as he could. "I'll leave as soon as I get some shoes on!"

"Well could you get some shoes on faster, please!?"

"If you're so worried about picking up the meat on time why don't you just have Cody do it?"

"Cody's still sleeping!!"

Logan paused for a moment, reflecting in amazement at his son's ability to sleep through this. How he wished to be sixteen again. With a sigh, he sat on the bed and slipped on some socks and a pair of shoes before making his way downstairs and to the living room. He found his wife struggling with the central vac hose that had been the bane of her existence from the day they had moved into the house.

"it's about time you showed your face down here." She said irritably. "The receipt for the ham is on the counter."

"Do you need anything else while I'm out?" Rory rolled her eyes at him in annoyance.

"Nothing else is open, Logan. It's Christmas day. The butcher closes in a half an hour so it would be nice if you could kindly leave."

"I was just making sure." Logan replied, ignoring his wife's less than nice tone. After years of marriage he finally came to realize that the easiest thing to do at a time like this was avoid picking a fight as much as possible. He walked over and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Merry Christmas, babe."

"Ham please."

"I'm going. I'm going." Logan said before stepping into the kitchen where he found his daughter and her fiancé sitting at the kitchen table. Ellie was munching on a cinnamon roll while Ian was reading the paper.

"Merry Christmas, Daddy." Ellie greeted.

"Merry Christmas, sweetheart." He said walking toward his daughter and placing a kiss on the top of her head. "I'd love to stay and chat but I think your mother will kill me if I don't leave."

"Oh yea…." Ellie said. "Hey why don't you take Ian with you?"

"What?" Logan asked as he watched his future son-in-law slowly peak his head over the newspaper and look at Ellie as if she had grown a second head.

"Well, Ian's been complaining all morning about not having anything to help out with. This way he can feel like he's doing something."

"Your Dad doesn't want to drag me along to pick up a ham, Love."

"Don't be silly." Ellie said. "You don't mind. Do you, Daddy?"

"I…"

"You two can get to know each other better. Plus I can take care of some last minute present wrapping." Logan sighed, not having any choice but to give into his little girl's charming smile.

"Right well…let's get going then."

Logan watched as Ian reluctantly stood from the table and leaned over his daughter for a quick kiss on the lips. He stood in front of Logan awkwardly, taking a deep breath and stuffing his hands in his pockets, not knowing quite exactly what to do. Logan made a gesture toward the garage door and Ian stepped toward it.

"Drive safe. The roads are icy."

"I will, Princess."

"I love you." Ellie called as they made their way out the door. Logan had opened his mouth to respond when he was cut off by the young man in front of him.

"I love you too, Elle." He closed his mouth quickly, his heart breaking at the thought that maybe that sentiment wasn't directed at him like he had thought. Rational thought told him that it was directed at both of them but he didn't know quite what to think now that his little girl was being stolen by another man.

The two men climbed into the car and made their way on a trip that neither one was thrilled about making. Even though they had been quite civil to each other the other night there was still a lot of ground to tread in the making of a decent relationship between them. They must have made it halfway to their destination before either one of them had dared to utter a word.

"So where exactly in England are you from?" Logan asked after finally having enough of the uncomfortable silence. Ian, who been content with staring out the passenger side window and avoiding Logan's gaze at all costs, seemed startled by the sudden start of a conversation and swallowed nervously before answering.

"Um….well I've lived in London all my life."

"Oh….that's nice."

"But my Dad was originally from Dover. My Mum was from Calais they met on a ferry and would visit each other back and forth. When they moved to London my Dad bought a small beach house in Dover and we would visit there during the summer holiday and Mum would take us over to France."

"That sounds nice."

"Yea…it was…" Ian said with a solemn smile. "I think that was one of the reasons I moved to Paris after I had that big row with my Dad. It just reminded me of her."

"Why didn't you go to Calais?" Logan asked. Ian shrugged.

"Reminded me too much of her I guess. In Paris it still felt like my Mum but…it wasn't as painful. Besides I met Ellie so….I'm glad I didn't go to Calais."

Silence settled over them once again and this time it was Logan who was content on looking out the windshield and avoiding the gaze of his future son-in-law. It was the first time since he met Ian that he was suddenly slapped in the face with the reality that this boy was head over heels in love with his little girl.

It was an odd feeling, strangely humbling, and it seemed that just from that one brief comment, Logan had one from hating the boy to simply disliking him a little.

* * *

Hours later the ham which Logan and Ian had successfully picked up just in time for the butcher to close was roasting contentedly in the oven, filling the house that was now bustling with family members with a delicious mouth-watering aroma. Jake, who had arrived about an hour before had made home on an island stool in the kitchen and hadn't stopped brooding since the moment he sat there, much to the dismay of his mother.

"Are you sure you're feeling alright, sweetie?" Rory asked once again. Jake just nodded solemnly and Rory leaned over, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. If she ever got her hands on that Rebecca again she would wring her neck with her bare hands. Never before had she seen her baby this upset. And on Christmas…

Her thoughts about the welfare of her son were cut short however when the sound of the front door opened and her sister-in-law called out to greet everyone.

"Hello!" Honor sang as she walked into the house. Rory jumped up in joy and practically ran out of the kitchen.

"Oh the baby's here!" She cheered as she hoped out of the kitchen to meet Honor in the hall. She was carrying the little guy in its pumpkin seat and trailing after her nervously were Cameron and his wife Lauren, the proud new parents. Honor brought the baby into the kitchen and set the seat on the table while Rory bounced with excitement about holding him.

"Mom be careful… his head…" Cameron warned as Honor reached in the tiny seat to lift her grandson out. Honor looked up at him with a look that could kill.

"Excuse me, sir, but is your head intact?"

"Yes…"

"Did you ever suffer from whip-flash? Do you have any brain damage?"

"No, Mom…."

"That's right I think I know how to hold a baby and so does you're Aunt."

"Yes I do!" Rory said happily as the infant was finally handed over to her. She looked down at the tiny squirming little bundle of joy with a huge smile and started bouncing him gently in her arms.

"I'd like you to meet Dakota Smith Hunnington."

"Well hi there, Dakota." Rory cooed as the baby looked up at her with wide brown eyes full of curiosity. "I'm you're Auntie Rory. Aren't you just the cutest little thing? You don't look like your Daddy at all do you?"

"Wow, thanks." Cameron said. Rory laughed.

"I didn't mean that the way it sounded. You're very handsome, Cameron."

"Yea…He doesn't look like Cameron at all. He actually looks a lot like Josh. If you saw a baby picture of him you would agree." Honor said. Her nephew had taken strongly after the Huntzberger side of the family and hadn't really gained any of his father's features. In fact, he and Jake looked more like brothers than cousins.

"Well that's nice. Josh should be happy about that."

"Yea…he is." Honor said, trailing off as she got lost in a trance while watching her grandson.

"Jake come over here and meet your new cousin." Rory said.

"I can see him from here, Mom." Jake said from his stool.

"Well you have to introduce yourself properly get over here." Jake very reluctantly moved from his seat and walked over to his mother. Leaning over her shoulder he peered down at the little boy and smiled briefly.

"Cute." He said before baking away.

"Not so fast!" Rory said. "Here." She started to hand the baby over to her son when Jake recoiled in shock.

"Whoa! What are you doing?"

"Well you have to hold him!" Rory insisted. Jake's eyes went as wide as saucers.

"I…" But Rory wasn't listening. She forced the baby into her son's uncertain hands and Jake had no choice but to hold onto the infant.

"Watch his head…" Rory coached as she signaled for Jake to move his arm to make a cradle for the baby. Jake looked down at the wiggling little human in his arms and went rigid with panic, something that little Dakota apparently did not like. The baby's face scrunched in unhappiness and went completely red and in a matter of seconds was wailing at the top of his lungs.

"Somebody take it! Somebody take it!" Jake said as he freaked out. Lauren rushed forward instantly and grabbed her baby from the nervous young man.

"Calm down, Mommy's got you." She cooed to the little boy. After a while he calmed down and started to burrow his head into her chest. "He's hungry…" She said. "Do you mind if I…"

"Oh not at all, sweetie. You can go ahead and use a room upstairs."

"Thank you." As Lauren slipped out of the kitchen with the baby, Rory fixed her gaze on her son who had already retreated back to his bar stool and was miserably munching on the bowl of M&M's in front of him. She had never seen him so sad in her life.

* * *

"Hey it's present time." Ellie said to her brother as she stepped into the kitchen and took a seat next to him. Jake merely shrugged his shoulders and took a sip of his beer, not particularly caring about what was going on in the room next to him.

"Looks like Grandpa went all out this year. You might find a whole island stuffed in one of those boxes. You never know."

"Don't think it would fit…" Jake commented.

"Probably not…" Ellie said. "Come on, Jake. You have to at least try to take your mind off of this…"

"Off of what?"

"Jake…"

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm perfectly fine."

"You've been sitting in the kitchen alone for hours."

"I'm comfortable." Jake said with a shrug.

"Have you talked to her at all?"

"She broke up with me." Jake took a sip of the beer he was holding in his hands and turned his face away from his sister, hoping that she wouldn't notice how miserable he looked.

"Did she say why?" Ellie asked meekly. Jake sighed.

"She said that she'd been thinking lately and that….she was going through some things right now that she needed to figure out on her own and that she didn't want to drag me along with her. She said that I'm obviously not ready for the kind of commitment she needs right now and that she didn't want to force me into anything that I didn't want to be a part of."

"Oh…"

"She said she loves me but after she told me she realized that things were moving way too fast for the both of us. She'd been talking to her Mom…"

"Bitch." Ellie murmured.

"….And her Mom suggested she take some time to sort out her life by herself for a while….without me. Apparently I'm too young and unpredictable to help her through her 'problems' which she never even told me about in the first place. She seemed happy to me."

"You'll find someone better. Someone who wants you involved in her life." Jake scoffed.

"Sure. Someone better."

"You will!" Ellie insisted. "You're smart, funny, handsome. You've got a great heart. Any girl would be lucky to get a guy like you. Becca doesn't know what the hell she's dong giving you up like this."

"I just don't understand what happened. Everything was going so well…"

"Well then she was obviously lying to you and you deserve someone who will share their thoughts and feelings with you, not someone who strings you along making you think everything is perfectly fine when it isn't. That's not fair and it's horrible what she did. She broke your heart and if I ever see her I'll….well….I'll kick her skinny little ass." Jake chuckled.

"Now that's very frightening." He said sarcastically.

"Hey…I work out." Jake raised an eyebrow at her.

"Well….I sit at the gym and watch Ian work out."

"Right…"

"Come on." Ellie said, grabbing her little brother by the hand and pulling him off his chair. "I'm not going to let you miss my present for Cody."

"Oh no…" Jake said as they walked into the living room full of family. "What did you do?" Though Ellie had never been much of a prankster as a child, she did receive some of Logan's genes and when she showed them it was usually worth it.

"You'll just have to wait and see won't you?" She asked, wagging her eyebrows. As soon as they made their way into the living room a chorus of voices sounded.

"He moved!!" Cameron shouted, applauding his younger cousin's entry.

"How on earth did you do it, Ellie?" Lizzie added. "We thought he was glued to the seat."

"I need more eggnog…" Mitchum said randomly from the couch.

"I'll get it for you, Grandpa." Jake offered holding his hand out for the glass.

"NO!!" The entire room shouted. Rory walked over to her son and grabbed his shoulders, gently steering him toward the couch.

"You just stay in here young man. Have a seat and watch your brother open his presents. It'll be your turn next." She pushed him down on the couch and moved over to her father-in-law.

"I'll get you more eggnog, Mitchum."

"Thank you, Rory." Mitchum said, smiling at her.

"Why don't you give him some from the virgin batch, babe." Logan said.

"Now why would she do something like that?" Mitchum asked.

"Dad, don't you think you've had enough to drink?" Logan asked.

"Don't proceed to tell me when I've had enough to drink, boy. When I've said I've had enough I'll stop. Until then I'll drink as much as I god damn want to."

"Dad, maybe Logan is right-"

"Honor, I don't need my children babysitting me. I'm a grown man damn it. Treat me like one."

"Alright fine. Drink yourself into a stupor. I don't care." Honor said. She got up, grabbed the cup from Rory and turned to address the room.

"Does anyone else want anything from the kitchen while I'm up?" She asked, her voice cracking from anger she was obviously trying to hide. Everyone awkwardly looked around and no one said a word. Jake leaned over to his sister and whispered in her ear.

"You brought me in here for this?"

"The fun's just getting started, kiddo." Lorelei said from her spot next to him, having overheard his not-so-discreet whisper.

"Super." Honor turned around and walked into the kitchen, upset.

"I'll help you, Mom." Lizzie said, getting up form the floor and making her way to the kitchen to comfort her mother.

"Sit down, Liz. She's perfectly capable of getting it herself." Mitchum said.

"She might need help with….ice….or something…" Lizzie zipped out of the room.

"Alright!" Rory said, brightly trying to change the mood. "Cody's about to open his presents so….let's all sit down and enjoy this….family….moment. Cody….this is from Dad and I."

Cody grabbed the box his mom was pushing toward him and started to tear at the paper, revealing a brand new laptop.

"Awesome!"

"Your mom and I thought since you spend so much time _studying _at Alex's house it'd be a good idea for you to have something other than a desk top so you can carry around with you."

"Thanks."

"Sure thing."

"This one is from Ellie." Cody took the bag and looked inside, blushing immediately and choosing not to take out whatever was inside.

"Okay, next."

"Wait, wait, wait." Rory said. "What was it? No one got to see."

"It was nothing, Mom. Just a gift card." He said.

"Now I know your sister gets more personal gifts than that. What was it?"

"Yea, Codes." Jake said from the couch. "Why don't you want to show us what it is? Everyone is dying to know."

"Really it was nothing."

"Cody, just open the present." Logan insisted. "Your mother wants to see." With a look of death on his face, Cody reached over and grabbed the gift bag slowly lifting a small box out of it. Rory was smiling in expectation until she saw the bright white letters spelling out "Trojan" across the top.

The entire room burst out into a round of laughter and Rory, scandalized reached over and snatched the box out of her baby's hands.

"Lorelei Elizabeth Huntzberger! Is this your idea of a joke?" Rory yelled.

"What happened? What'd I miss?" Lizzie asked as she ran back into the living room with her mother behind her.

"Ellie just gave Cody a box of condoms and Rory is in the process of freaking out." April told her with a laugh.

"It's not a joke, Mother." Ellie said. "I just thought I'd replace the box that I took from his room now that he has a girlfriend again."

"She's not my girlfriend!" Cody insisted, reaching over and trying to take the box form his mother.

"You told me you were going to throw those away, young lady!" Rory said to her daughter while she attempted to swat her son's hand away. "Stop trying to get this box, Cody, because you're not going to have it."

"Mom!" Ellie exclaimed in faux disbelief, placing a hand over her heart. "How could you ever accuse me of not throwing those away? What else would I do with them?"

Lorelei slipped a hand over to her granddaughter and exchanged a silent high five.

"Mom, don't encourage her!" Rory said. "Logan, go throw these away." She looked over at her husband who was currently sending a glare over in Ian's direction. "Logan!" He jumped up and took the box from her, making his way to the kitchen to dispose of them.

"You can't just throw them away! They were my present!"

"Oh yes we can, young man." Rory said. "And you and your father are going to be having a long chat once everyone leaves."

"Ellie!" Cody yelled, looking at his sister who was currently cracking up along with Jake. "I hate you! You ruined my Christmas!"

"Oh don't be so dramatic." Rory said. She snatched the bag that the condoms were wrapped in and looked inside, pulling out a gift card to the Apple store to go with his computer.

"Here's your real present. Go ahead and open the one from Grams and Luke." Cody grumbled

"Mom….you realize once Alice gets pregnant it will be all your fault now." Jake said through his laughter.

"That is not funny young man! And her name is Alex."

"_She _doesn't have a name because I don't have a girlfriend!" Cody insisted as he started to open his next gift.

Jake continued to laugh along with his sister and suddenly his phone started to vibrate in his pocket. He reached for it and looked down, his heart stopping as he saw the name on the caller ID.

"Excuse me." He said, getting up from his seat and walking out the front door. He flipped his phone open, brought it to his ear, and gulped down his nerves.

"Bec?" he asked, his voice cracking.

"Hi, is this Jake?" His heart fell in his chest as he realized whoever was on the other line was not his ex. It was probably some friend of hers who was drunk and stole her phone to call him and pick his heart out of his chest slowly.

"Uh yea…who is this?"

"Um…this is Lacey. I'm a friend of Becca's…" Jake closed his eyes.

"Yea, what's up?"

"Listen, We had to rush Becca to the hospital…um…New York Presbyterian…She didn't want me to call you but I think you have a right to know what's going on."

"Holy….Jesus, what happened? Is she okay? Where are you? Are you in the emergency room?"

"Uh….no actually we're in the maternity ward….I think it might be a good idea if you came."

* * *

**TBC….**

Please don't kill me... I'll try to be fast... chews finger nails in fear


	14. Le Divine Enfant

I felt really really bad about leaving you guys on a cliffhanger like that after I had gone so long without updating so I worked really hard to get this out to you as fast as I possibly could. I knew exactly where this chapter was going so it was really easy to write. Unfortunately, this is the quickest update you should expect in a while. The next ones more than likely will not be this fast. I probably won't take nine months but definitely a couple weeks or so. This chapter is a little on the short side but it's emotion packed and definitely not lacking in content. Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I have to say I was shocked that I received just as much feedback as I used to. I thought for sure some people would have lost track. Words cannot say how happy I am!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gilmore girls

**Chapter Fourteen **

**Le Devine Enfant **

"_Uh….no actually we're in the maternity ward….I think it might be a good idea if you came." _

He hung up the phone, not even bothering to say goodbye to the girl on the other line. He was in shock. He stood on his porch for what felt like seconds but in actuality was probably a few minutes.

Maternity ward.

The words would be repeating over and over again in his head if it weren't for the fact that he could not hear himself think over his rapid heartbeat pounding in his ears.

Was he hyperventilating? Or was it just that suddenly he was very much aware of how loudly he breathed?

He finally gathered enough sense to turn around and walk back into the house where his family enthusiastically welcomed him back. Ellie patted the seat next to her but he didn't sit down. Instead, he walked to the tree, grabbed the tiny box that was meant for Becca, and put it in his pocket.

"I have to go…" He said quietly before walking toward the front door.

"What do you mean you have to go? It's Christmas. You can't go anywhere." Rory said

"I just….I just have to go." Everyone in the room was protesting but Jake didn't hear them. Instead, he simply grabbed his coat and his keys and walked out the door, not looking back.

Becca was pregnant.

Holy shit, she was pregnant.

His mother was upset with his departure. That was obvious by the amount of phone calls he had received from the very second he walked out the door. He didn't answer them. It was a miracle he had made it to the hospital in the first place. Talking on the phone would have only made the drive that more dangerous.

As he walked into the maternity ward and took in all the pregnant women walking around him, he felt sick.

Rebecca was pregnant. He was going to be a father. This is what he got for teasing his little brother about contraception.

Holy shit he was going to be a father.

He couldn't be a father. He didn't even know how to hold his cousin's kid without making it scream. Hell, he just referred to a child as an it.

He couldn't do this.

"Jake?" He turned to meet the sight of a tiny red head looking up at him. He nodded and she seemed relieved.

"Thank God. I've only seen a picture of the side of your face so I wasn't sure….I'm Lacey."

"Hi." He said softly. He looked around the waiting room, praying that he would not see Becca's mother anywhere near.

"Don't worry she's not here." Lacey said, somehow knowing what he was thinking. He looked down at her, for the first time noticing the redness in her eyes. Something was wrong. She had been crying. Something was wrong with Becca and his….his baby…

"Becca she…"

"Becca's fine." Lacey said, her voice cracking. "You should really talk to her. Follow me." Lacey led him down the hall to Becca's room and he felt the world was spinning around him. Any second now he was going to be told that he was going to be a father.

He was going to have to pull himself together. For Becca's sake. He could do this. He could be a dad. He didn't have the most perfect father in the world but he was a good one most of the time. His dad was a fine role model…. If Logan could do it Jake could do it.

At least it was Becca. His remembered his dad having that talk with him so many times, about girls who would desperately try to get pregnant with his child in order to get child support checks. Becca wasn't like that. Becca would be a great mom to his baby.

In fact, on the way over here he had almost begun to warm up to the idea of having a baby. It would be hard and he would need help but it definitely wasn't the end of the world. He was even beginning to love it a little. Actually, more than a little.

Maybe it would be a little girl that looked just like her, with her yellowy blonde hair and his eyes. He always loved her shade of blonde much more than his dirty locks. But as long as his little girl had Bec's smile it didn't matter whom she looked like. Maybe it would be a little boy, a carbon copy of himself just like he was a carbon copy of his father. Maybe having a baby with Becca wouldn't be so terrible.

"What is he doing here?" The scratchy voice of his ex sounded from her hospital bed. Jake took one look at her pale face and tear stained cheeks.

"Bec…come on…"

"I didn't want to tell him! I told you not to tell him!" Becca said, her anger drowned out from her tears. Jake just ran to the bed gathering her in his arms as she sobbed onto his shoulder. Lacey turned around and walked silently back to the waiting room, leaving the two of them alone.

"It's going to be okay." Jake said, rocking her back and forth. "We can do this. I'll be by your side the whole time. I swear I'll be a good dad-"

Jake was cut of by a blood-curdling sob from Becca. She began to shake as he crying continued.

"Come on it's not that bad is it? It's not like my kid's Rosemary's baby or anything…" Jake said with a laugh, trying to lighten the mood. "We can do this. We can be parents. My family will help us out and… You should have told me sooner… Were you ever going to tell me?"

"I'm n-not pre-pregnant." Becca managed to squeak out through her tears.

"What do you mean you're not pregnant? Why are you here if you're not pregnant?" Becca started take in heaving breaths and fought to get the words out.

"I-I w-was sta-sta-standing in the k-kitchen and my s-stomach st-started to hurt and I b-bent over and th-there was all this b-blood…" Jake's heart dropped to his stomach.

"Bec, what are you saying?"

"My-My mom to-ok me to the h-h-hospital and th-they tried to-to-to…"

"They tried to what, babe?" Jake's chin began to quiver as he slowly took in what she was telling him. Becca continued to sob into his chest and Jake just held her, rubbing her back as best he could.

"It-It's g-gone…my-my b-baby. It's gone… I ki-illed it…"

"No, Becca, no, this isn't your fault, it's not your fault, okay."

"Y-Yes it is. I d-didn't w-want it and n-now it's g-gone….I- k-killed it i-it's all my f-f-fault."

"It's not your fault."

Tears stung at Jake eyes at his earlier vision of his blonde baby girl smiling up at him. It was washed away with visions of blood and thoughts of death. For a little more than an hour he had forced himself to except the fact that he was going to be a daddy and just as he was getting used to the idea it was ripped away from him.

"Shh….it's going to be okay. We'll get through it. Everything will be okay."

Jake stayed on the bed, rocking her back and forth and rubbing her back until she finally cried herself to sleep. Tears of his own made tracks down his cheeks. In a matter of a month he had managed to lose the one girl he ever felt like he could love and a baby…his baby.

He slowly, as to not wake her, pushed her back into the pillows and let her sleep. He stared at her for a moment, noting the dark circles and faded tracks of mascara along her cheeks. He bent over and kissed each of them, lingering a moment to nuzzle his nose against hers. Words could not describe how much he missed her.

He reached into his pocket, taking out the gift that was meant solely for her. He unwrapped it from the golden paper, opened the tiny blue box and tenderly lifted her wrist, placing the beautiful piece of jewelry around it. He lifted it to his lips, kissing the underside of her wrist, and then held onto her hand, never wanting to let go.

He sniffed and in an almost silent whisper said…

"I love you, too."

* * *

"Jake, it's Dad. Look, you've got your mother worked up into a fit here. She's worried sick about you after you just left the house looking like that. What's going on, kid? We'd really like to know. Anyway, please call us back as soon as you can. Love you."

Logan leaned back in his seat and rubbed a tired hand across his eyes. Opening them, he saw his wife gaze worriedly over at him from where she stood collecting piles of wrapping paper in a trash bag.

"Still nothing?" She asked.

"Nope." Logan answered.

"Do you think he's okay?"

"I'm sure he's fine Rory. Let's just give him some time to call us alright? If we don't hear from him by tomorrow I'll call in the cavalry, okay?" Rory nodded.

"I don't know what possessed him to just up and leave like that."

"I'm sure it was an emergency, Ace."

"Well that's what I'm worried about!" Rory shouted, her voice cracking from the lump in her throat. Lorelei jumped up from the couch and wrapped her daughter in her arms.

"Sweets, I'm sure Jake is just fine. He's a big boy he can take care of himself."

"He was drinking…" Rory squeaked.

"He had half a beer, Ace. He was nowhere near drunk."

"But what if he speeds and they pull him over and they make him take a Breathalyzer and it's like… point eight and a half and he gets arrested and has to spend the night in jail and gets his license taken away and…"

"Rory, that's not going to happen." Logan soothed.

"Oh yea! Tell that to Paris Hilton!"

"Mom?" Cody asked quietly, walking into the room and looking around awkwardly. Everyone turned to look at him. He was standing in the doorway to the kitchen holding Rory's cell phone with his hand over the voice box. "You have a phone call."

"Oh God!" Rory said, running over to the phone thinking that it was either her son or the police station. "Hello?" she asked frantically. Everyone watched her crumple with either relief or disappointment as soon as she realized who it was.

"Merry Christmas to you too, Paris…" She slipped into the kitchen with the phone and Cody started to make his way up to his room.

"Cody…" Logan said, bending around to address his son. "Why don't you start cleaning up so your mother can relax a little bit?"

"Why don't you?" he asked. Logan fixed a stare in his direction.

"Now. Please." Cody sighed as he turned around and mumbled under his breath. He made it way into the living room and made a show snatching the garbage bag from the floor.

"I'll help you, Codes." Ellie said, standing up from the couch and brushing a soft hand across his back. The family sat together in silence for a while until the shrill ring of Logan's phone broke the air. He looked down and heaved a sigh of immense relief when he saw his son's name lit up on the id.

"Jake, thank God! What the hell is wrong with you? You've got everyone worried sick-"

"_Dad, can you come pick me up please?_" Jake's voice was so soft and full of pain that Logan had to take a moment to banish the shock before he could answer.

"Yea, of course I can pick you up. Where are you? You're not at the police station are you? I swear to God, Jacob, if you're within two feet of a police officer right now…"

"_I'm at the hospital."_

"The hospital?" Logan saw the faces of every single person in the room shoot up to look at him in concern. Ellie and Cody had frozen in place and Logan could see the liquid inside the cup his daughter was holding shaking from the tremors in her hand.

"_Yea…I'm in the waiting room at the maternity ward." _

"The- What are you doing there, Jake?"

"_Right now I'm just looking at all the babies…" _

"Jake, what's going on?"

"_They're so tiny, Dad. They're so helpless…" _

"Son, you're scaring me. What's going on?"

"_Can you just come pick me up, please?" _Logan could hear the tears in his voice.

"Yea, I'll come right now."

"_K. Bye." _

"Bye." Logan hung up the phone and looked down at his hands, trying to get his thoughts together in order to interpret what just happened.

"What going, Dad? Is he okay?" Ellie asked, the hand that was previously holding a cup had been brought up to her mouth so that she could chew on her fingernails.

"I…I don't know…He's not hurt. He's…" Logan stood up and patted his pockets, checking to see if his car keys were in them. "Keys…where are my keys…"

"They're in the kitchen, Dad." Cody said.

"Right the kitchen. I'll be back." Logan started to walk to the kitchen. "Wait….I can't drive. I have to drive Jake's car home…."

"I'll drive you." Luke offered getting up from the couch. Logan nodded a thank you and then made their way out the front door just as Rory re-entered the living room.

"Where'd your Dad and Luke go?"

"They went to go pick up Jake from the hospital. He didn't say what was going on."

"I'm sure Jake's just fine, babe." Lorelai said, walking over to her again and pulling her into her arms.

"Yea, Mom." Ellie said. "He probably had to go see a friend that got hurt or something. He's probably just upset." Rory shook her head.

"No…" she said as she began to cry. "No….I have a really bad feeling…"

* * *

"You know this is probably for the better. I mean…you guys weren't ready to be parents, you know?" Lacey said softly as she walked over to Jake who was frozen in front of the window to the nursery. With every word she said she hated herself more and more. She was bad at comforting people.

"It would have been better if she was never pregnant. This isn't better. This is…"

"I know." She said. "I shouldn't have said that. I'm sorry. I'm just….trying to… I don't know."

An awkward silence settled between them. Lacey stood there, joining him in watching the little babies wave and kick. One little girl right in front of them opened her eyes and looked around, sticking her tiny little fingers in her mouth and pounding her feet against her fiberglass bassinet. For a few seconds it seemed like she looked at them. Jake tore his gaze away from her.

"When did she find out?"

"Huh?"

"Becca. When did she…"

"Oh…um…a couple weeks ago. A few days before you went to dinner at her mom's house I think. She said she went to the doctor and she told her that you probably uh…you know… around Thanksgiving."

Jake scoffed and shook his head. Their first time. The first time they had been together he had managed to get her pregnant.

"Was she okay?" He asked. "When she found out I mean…"

"She was a mess." He nodded in response, trying to imagine what she must have been going through and why she didn't want him to help her. "She thought about getting an abortion but she couldn't go through with it." Jake simply nodded again.

"Yea….fingernails and all that…"

"Actually fingernails don't develop until about the twelfth week…"

"Oh…really?" Lacey nodded.

"Honest to blog."

"Why didn't she want to tell me?"

"I don't know. I-"

"Jake!" Jake turned around and slumped his shoulders as his father and Luke appeared coming out of the elevator. Logan practically jogged over to him and placed his hands on both of his shoulders, looking him up and down appraisingly. "Are you okay? What's going on. Why are you here?"

"Becca-"

"SHE'S PREGNANT?" Logan yelled. "Jesus Christ! How could you be so stupid?! How many times have I told you to be careful? I can't believe you let this happen. How the hell are you going to take care of a child? You can't even take care of yourself!" Jake jerked away from him, tears once again stinging in his eyes.

"She's not pregnant!!" He yelled back. He shook his head and looked down and closed his eyes, causing a drop of water to fall onto the tiled floor. "Not anymore…"

It was so soft, it was almost inaudible but both Logan and Luke heard it. The look of anger that had just a second ago marked his father's face melted away into concern. Logan stepped forward to try and comfort his oldest son but Jake backed away shaking his head.

"Can we just go home please?" Jake asked pleadingly. "I just want to go home."

"Yea…" Logan said. "I can drive you back in your car and Luke will follow."

"I don't want to drive anywhere with _you_ right now."

"Jake…I'm sorry….I didn't…"

"Just stop."

"You can ride with me, kid." Luke said. Logan looked over to Luke and gave him a silent thanks.

* * *

The car ride was silent half the way home. A soon as Luke started the car Jake was quick to turn off the radio. He wasn't really in the mood to listen to all the happy Christmas songs. He turned his head to look out the window as they made their way back to Garden City and didn't turn his head once. He probably didn't want Luke to see him cry.

They came to a red light and Luke looked over at him. He reached over and placed a hand on his knee, squeezing slightly just to give him some silent support.

"I'm sorry, kiddo." He said. "I know how you must be feeling."

"Do you?" Jake asked, finally turning his head to look over. Luke could see the red in his eyes even in the dark.

"For an hour I thought that… It was just an hour and I was already in love with this…thing…" He couldn't bring himself to say the word baby out loud.

"That's all it takes, really." Luke said. "At least you hadn't started planning out additions to the house and gone shopping for clothes and furniture. At least… At least this wasn't something that you'd been trying to make happen for months and you thought finally your prayers were answered only to have that hope ripped away."

"I didn't even know she was pregnant until tonight. How am I supposed to grieve something I never even knew I had?" He asked. "How do I even know it was real anyway? How am I supposed to feel like I've lost something that I never saw or touched. It feels like it's not even real. None of this is real. But if it's not real then why does it hurt so much?"

"I don't know, kid."

"It's not fair…"

"I know it's not fair. But it was real. There really was a baby. Just because you couldn't see it didn't mean it wasn't there and it wasn't yours."

"I know but I…"

"You should name it." Luke said.

"What?"

"You should give it a name, something to attach your grief to. That way when you start to feel like you're mourning something that you never really had, you'll remember that it's not just theoretical….it's….William."

Jake looked over at his ever-stoic step-grandfather when he detected a small crack in his voice. Luke brought a hand to his mouth and coughed, turning his head away from Jake.

"Or you know….whatever you decide to call it."

"Yea…" Luke took a deep breath and turned to face him again, offering a solemn smile.

"Just remember to be strong. Life goes on. It's hard… but life always goes on."

* * *

**TBC…**


	15. To Mope, or Not to Mope

Hey guys! Here's the next chapter. Sorry about the wait, but hey at least its not as long as it was before :). This is the first official chapter that I've actually had betaed! So it should be completely typo free. Hope you enjoy. Don't forget to review!

**Chapter Fifteen**

**To mope, or not to mope.**

"Can I come in?"

There was no answer as Logan cautiously entered his son's room. Jake was lying on the bed, flipping aimlessly through the channels. He took a deep breath and looked around. He hadn't been in this room in ages. He hardly ever went in it when Jake was still living with them. Ever since he had been at school, Logan had practically forgotten this room existed.

"Jake?" he asked again softly. There was still no answer. He would have left if not for the look on his son's face. It wasn't one of anger, which he had expected after what had happened in the hospital tonight. Instead, his son just looked shut off to the world.

He decided to stay and walked over to the bed, taking a seat on the side opposite Jake. The father and son that there for a moment in silence, Logan trying to collect his thoughts and Jake just simply not wanting to speak.

"I talked to Luke. He um…. He said you guys had a talk in the car," Jake remained unresponsive. Logan rubbed his hand over his eyes and sighed completely lost

"Jake, I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier," he said. "I… I feel horrible. I-"

"You wouldn't be sorry if she was still pregnant. So it doesn't really matter, does it?" Jake finally said. He still didn't tear his gaze away from the TV, afraid that if he brought himself to actually look at his father he would dissolve in tears instantly.

"Yes I would," Logan said. "I would be sorry."

"I don't believe you."

"Jake, please," Logan pleaded. "I would be disappointed, yes. I am disappointed but I would be sorry about yelling at you. You know that I would love any gr…" He paused, having to force himself to spit out the word. "…_grandchild _I would ever have, no matter the circumstances of their conception….and no matter how much it hurts

to think of myself as Grandpa." He chuckled a bit at his last statement but Jake proved that this was no time for humor by remaining completely straight-faced.

"Well, you aren't going to be one so you can rest easy," Jake said, his voice wavering with each and every word.

Logan closed his eyes to collect himself. He had absolutely no idea what to do in a situation like this. How was he supposed to help his son through this when he had no idea what he must be going through? The thought of losing any one of his kids was so horrible that he couldn't even stand to think about it. It didn't really matter that Jake had only seen himself as a father for a brief period of time. Logan knew that the love you had for your children was instant. He also knew how terrifying the idea of losing one before they were even born was. He knew all to well.

"We almost lost your brother, you know?" Logan said.

Jake turned his head in his father's direction, surprised by the revelation. His memory of his mother's third pregnancy was foggy as he was only four years old at the time. He could vaguely remember Rory being in bed often but he never realized that Cody was in any danger.

"Twice," Logan confirmed with a nod. "Your mother went into labor way too early. She was only in her seventh month. They managed to delay the labor for a couple weeks."

"His asthma..." Jake asked. Logan nodded.

"The doctors said that might have a lot to do with it." Logan sighed. "That was the scariest thing I've ever gone through in my life. All I could think about was losing him and never getting to hold him. Your mother…. She tried really hard to keep a smile on her face for you kids but she was going through hell on the inside. We were having some problems of our own and she was going through her own problems. She never told me this until after your brother was born but she went through a period of time where she thought it might have been her fault that we almost lost Cody. He was….well, he was a surprise and your mother… she didn't really want anymore children at the time…."

Jake winced slightly, not liking the fact that his father had just implied that his parents had sex with each other when they weren't trying for a baby. He liked to think that they never touched each other except for the three times it took to conceive him and his brother and sister.

"I don't know what we would have done if…" Logan drifted off, closing his eyes his to compose himself. The thought of his smart ass, often times cranky little boy who looked so much like Rory not being in his life was too much to bear. Words couldn't describe how much he loved the little brat.

"No offense, Dad, but you're not really cheering me up."

"I'm sorry. I know. I just….I just want you to know that even though I've never been in your position, I am a father – your father and I can imagine how much pain you're in right now. I love you and your brother and sister so much and if I had lost anyone of you I… well, I wouldn't be able to get out of bed in the morning."

"It's hard to love something you never even saw," Jake whispered.

Logan nodded. "But that doesn't make you hurt any less does it?" Jake shook his head as once again his eyes began to fill with tears. "I just want you to know that I'm sorry for how I acted earlier and I'm here for you no matter what, alright? Whenever you want to talk about this or anything I'm right here."

"I don't want to talk about it," Jake said. Logan sighed and nodded his head, respecting his son's wishes. He moved to get off the bed when suddenly Jake stopped him.

"Dad?" Logan sat back down.

"What, bud?" Jake took a deep breath and rolled over on his other side to face his father.

"Will you just stay here with me? I don't want to be alone."

Logan's heart twisted in his chest. As he looked down at his son he no longer saw a twenty-year-old man in front of him but rather a scared little boy who needed him to chase his nightmares away. Jake hadn't admitting to needing Logan in so long, he was starting to feel completely useless. But now, even after everything they had been through in the past few years, Jake was letting him know that he still needed him from time to time.

"Sure thing. We'll just watch a movie, okay?"

Jake nodded as Logan made himself more comfortable, moving so that his back was leaning against the headboard of his son's bed. Jake shifted to make room for him and once his father was settled, rested his head on top his father's thigh, He no longer cared to be embarrassed about displays of affection with the man. He couldn't seem to tune out the tiny little four-year-old voice in the back of his head telling him that Daddy would make everything alright.

Logan was shocked by the outward display by his usually emotionally reserved son. But he bit back any comments that he could have made and just picked up his hand and started to run his fingers through the boy's hair to calm him. He grabbed the remote with his free hand and flipped through the channels.

* * *

Cody had never found it so hard to concentrate in class before. It was his first day back at school after break and the whole time he found himself staring out windows and wasting the time away with his thoughts. He was worried about his brother. Jake had been a mess for almost two weeks now. Ever since Christmas night Jake had locked himself up in his room. On occasion Cody would see his parents entering with food and leaving. The only time Cody has seen him come out of his room was at New Years Eve.

His Dad had spent every day after Christmas trying to get Jake out of his room. He bought tickets to the Giants game, which he ended up taking Cody to as a last resort. Come to think of it everything his Dad had originally planned to do with Jake he had ended up doing with Cody. He didn't know really how to feel about that. It was nice spending time with his father. It would just be cool if for once his father would buy tickets to a football game for him first and not Jake.

After one failed attempt after another, Logan finally gave up trying to get his oldest son to get out and resorted to calling Jake's best friend Gregg Barnett, whom Logan usually tried to avoid contact with. The first time he met the kid, he called his father right away and apologized for ever bringing Finn into his house, imagining that they must have been very similar. Gregg came over and finally managed to get Jake out of his room and dragged him to a party. He was home at 12:30.

Ever since school had started up again Cody had no idea how his brother was faring. He had thought about calling him a couple times but he figured Jake would probably get upset.

"Good job." Cody jumped in surprise as his English teacher handed him his newly graded quiz. The bell had just rung apparently, considering the fact that the entire class was getting out of their seats and making their way out the door into the hallway.

Cody offered a polite smile of acknowledgement before standing up and stuffing the A plus paper in his backpack. Looking up from his bag, he was surprised to see that he wasn't the last person to leave the room. Sitting in her desk staring at her quiz with her head in her hands was Alex Hayes. He paused, watching her for a moment before shrugging and walking toward the door.

"I'm okay," she said. Cody turned around and looked at her quizzically. "I could tell you wanted to ask so I thought I'd just answer."

"Are you sure?" he asked, slinging his backpack over his right shoulder.

"Yes – No. God!" The girl exclaimed. "I got one question right on this quiz." Cody winced. "And listen, listen to which one it is. Hamlet was written by…"

"Well… I hear Christopher Marlowe was pretty big back then too. It wouldn't be too hard to mix - " Cody was cut off by her angry glare. "Yea, that's…that's pretty sad. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Alex said. "I don't know what I'm going to do, you know? I mean…. I've _never _done this bad on a quiz before. I just don't understand this stuff. It's like… Mandarin or something." Cody raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I was going to say Spanish but I figured I'm taking Spanish so I can at least comprehend a little bit of it! I needed to go with something completely foreign!"

"It's just Shakespeare," Cody said with a shrug as he watched Alex collect her belongings. She threw on her backpack and accompanied him down the hall.

"Well….Shakespeare lived in England therefore he should speak English!" she exclaimed, as she stopped in front of her locker and banged her head.

"Well…okay you just have to break it apart. Let me see your quiz." Alex reluctantly handed the paper to him and he read the first question out loud.

"How does Ophelia respond to her brother's advice regarding Hamlet?" he said. "Answer: She tells him to mind his own business."

"It's what I would do," she said with a shrug. Cody laughed.

"Okay, well… "show me not the steep and thorny route to heaven while he himself the primrose path of dalliance treads." First you have to straighten out the beginning he inverts the subject and the verb so show me not becomes do not show me."

"Well…I got that." she said.

"The rest is just a metaphor. She's talking about roads to heaven which, in Christian dogma, relates to your deeds on earth."

"Right…" Alex said, closing her locker and making her way to her next class.

"So she says do not show me the "steep and thorny route", which obviously means the difficult road, when you follow the "primrose" road of "dalliance", which means the fun and easy road. Laertes keeps lecturing her and telling her to stay away from Hamlet before he, well…"

"Deflowers her?" Alex asked with a teasing smile. Cody laughed.

"That's one way to put it. I was going to say before he plucks her… Anyway…He keeps saying all this stuff about how she should be sheltered and innocent when she has feeling he's going to be having all kinds of fun in Paris."

"So she's telling him not to be a hypocrite?" Alex asked.

"Exactly."

"Now if only I could figure that out for myself," she said.

"Well…I could…" Alex whipped her head to face him and he suddenly became very nervous.

"What?" she asked.

"I could help you if you want… you know if you need a…a tutor or something."

Alex smiled. "Yea…I'd like that," she said, looking up at him and suddenly aware of how close they were standing to each other in the crowded hallway. Their faces were centimeters apart and both of them had completely stopped breathing. Cody felt himself leaning when suddenly a bell rang.

"I should go…" he said stepping away from her. "That was the minute bell and I'm across the building so…"

"Right…" Alex said. "I'll call you."

"Yea! Okay…uh…do you have my number?"

Alex blushed and looked down at her feet. "It was on your facebook…"

"Right," Cody said. "I'll talk to you later then."

Cody watched her as she slipped into her classroom, walking backward into the wall upon which he threw all his weight. His knees suddenly seemed like they couldn't hold him up anymore. What had he gotten himself into?

* * *

Rory waited thirty seconds after she knocked on her son's door for a response. Knowing she wasn't going to get one she slowly turned the knob and peeked inside, finding Jake sitting at his computer desk typing away. He was still in his pajamas and the blinds were drawn on all the windows, blocking out the sun. She doubted that he had any concept of what time of the day it was.

"Jake?" she asked as she made her way over to him. He continued to type. "I brought you some dinner." Rory set the plate down on his desk and he grunted a response. "Have you talked to Rebecca at all?"

"She's staying at her mother's and working at the paper. She won't talk to me about anything that happened."

"Well, it must be hard for her," Rory said, reaching forward and brushing some hair out of her son's eyes. "You know if you ever want to talk I'm right here…"

"I don't want to talk. I just want everyone to leave me alone."

Rory bit her lip and nodded. "Bring your dishes down when you're done, okay?" With that she left her oldest son's room, closing the door and letting out a long sigh. She didn't know how he was gong to manage going back to school the next week. He barely stepped out of his room anymore. Deciding to let her son be for the moment, she made her way down the stairs. The doorbell rung a second later and she turned to answer it only to get shoved out of the way.

"I got it!" Cody yelled. Rory stumbled to the side and tried to remain balanced as he opened the front door. "Hi!" Cody let whomever it was inside and Rory was surprised, to say the least, to see a young girl standing in her foyer.

"Cody," she began. "You didn't tell me you were planning on having company over. I would have made more dinner."

"Oh, that's alright Mrs. Huntzberger, I've already eaten."

"It was kind of last minute, Mom," Cody explained through his teeth. Rory recognized the look on his face immediately. It was the go-away-now-before-you-completely-embarrass-me-in-front-of-a-girl face. Jake had a very similar expression when he was Cody's age. It was sad that after all these years her sons did not appreciate her sadistic streak. Rory beamed.

"I'm sorry if I'm intruding…" the young girl said. Rory just smiled some more and extended her hand in a greeting.

"Oh, not at all, sweetheart. I don't think we've met. I'm Cody's mother. You can call me Rory. You are?"

"I'm Alex Hayes. I'm in Cody's English class. He was going to help me with some homework."

"Oh, Alex, of course! I've heard a lot about you!"

"_Mom_…"

"Cody hardly shows interest in girls. You're only the second girl he's brought over here. His father and I were a bit worried for a while…"

"MOM!"

"Well, I'll just leave you two lovebirds alone. Call me if you get hungry! And leave the door open please." Rory turned around and walked to the living room wearing a huge grin on her face the entire time. Cody held in face in his hands, not wanting Alex to see how many shades of red he had grown.

"I'm so sorry," he said as he finally built up the courage to show her face again. "She did that on purpose. She likes to see me in pain."

Alex laughed. "She's your mother. It's her job to embarrass you. Besides if you think that is bad, you should meet mine."

"So….do you….want to go upstairs?" Alex looked up the stairs cautiously.

"Uh….yea…ok…sure…"

"We could… Go down the basement if you'd rather. My Dad will be home soon though and he might kick us out."

"The basement sounds great!" Alex cheered, jumping at the chance to go anywhere other than his bedroom. She didn't think she would be able to handle the awkwardness of being alone with him in his bedroom.

"Ok…the basement…this way…" Cody led her down the stairs to the basement that had long been his father's domain. The only time he really came down here was for parties and sometimes to watch a movie or play video games. His Dad usually got suspicious if he and his friends were down here alone for too long. It might have something to do with the fully stocked bar.

Alex followed him down the stairs and looked up and around in amazement at the room around her. "Is that your TV?" she asked, gesturing to the giant plasma screen on the wall. It was almost the size of one of the walls in her bedroom. Cody laughed uncomfortably.

"Yea…that's the TV. It's pretty cool when you're playing video games and Link is just as tall as you."

"I…can imagine," Alex said, although she really couldn't. This was the most extravagant house she had ever seen in her life. There was a fully stocked bar to her left, pool table to her right, outside a sliding door she could see a patio with a fire pit leading out to a pool deck. The pool was made to look as if it were a natural spring. It was surrounded by waterfalls. Cody led her over to a small sitting area surrounding the TV. He took a seat on the couch and she followed suit.

"So…" he said.

"So…Shakespeare."

"Shakespeare, right." Cody sat back as Alex started to fumble through her book bag. She took out her notebook and a copy of Hamlet that she needed to study for the test the next day.

"So….I pretty much know who does what and what happens," Alex explained. "I just need help on the parts where he wants us to explain the monologues and stuff. I just get so lost two lines in."

"Let me see the study guide," Cody said, reaching for a piece of paper Alex was holding in his hand. She handed it to him and he took his time looking over everything that they were expected to know for the test. An uncomfortable silence fell between them as he read over the sheet.

"So…" Alex began. She tired to think of a topic as she brought her legs up under her Indian style. "How was your Christmas?" Cody stopped reading the paper and paused for a moment.

"It kind of sucked actually."

"Oh! I'm sorry," Alex said. She wanted to hit herself for bringing that up. "I shouldn't have asked. I know a lot of people who go to our school don't really like spending time with their families…"

"What?" Cody asked, looking up from his paper. Alex blushed and started to pick at her shoe.

"I just mean….I should have known. I'm sorry."

"My family's not like that," Cody explained. "We get along fine." Alex felt like imploding.

"I'm…sorry….I just assumed since you said…"

"It's okay," Cody assured her. "A lot of people assume that."

"I feel bad."

"Don't," Cody said. "It's fine." Alex took a deep breath and looked out the window as Cody remained silent and continued to read over the study guide.

"So…what happened then… if you don't mind me asking, that is."

Cody sighed. "My brother's ex-girlfriend had a miscarriage. It was his. She didn't tell him until she was in the hospital."

"Oh my God," Alex said. "I'm so sorry."

Cody shrugged. "I didn't really know until after the fact. If you see some blond guy moping around the house, though, that's him. I wouldn't say anything. He's an angry mourner."

"Noted."

"Must I remember? Why, she would hang on him, as if increase of appetite had grown by what it fed on: and yet, within a month,—Let me not think on't,—Frailty, thy name is woman!"

"I'm sorry?" Alex asked confused by the sudden outburst. Cody looked up from the study guide.

"You're supposed to explain the quotation," Cody said.

"Oh…so….we're doing that now. Um… Hamlet is a misogynist ass?" Alex answered.

Cody scoffed. "Not quite."

"Frailty, thy name is woman sounds a little misogynistic to me."

"But he doesn't hate women just 'cause," Cody defended. "He hates women because his mother married his uncle like….two seconds after his father died. And the girl who apparently loved him dumped him the second her Daddy told her to. All the women in his life who claim to love people only end up stomping on them in the end. His mother said she loved his father but as soon as he's gone she's flaunting this brand new relationship in front of everyone as if his father never even existed. It's sickening."

"Well, I think it's wrong of Hamlet to judge all women based on two of them."

"Well, it's kind of hard not to when they're the only women he let get close to him."

"You're talking about Sarah, aren't you?"

Cody looked up at her in surprise. "What are you talking about?"

"You're mad at her because she and Brad are all over each other now and you have to watch it."

"I…"

"And you're probably pissed that your brother's ex never told him that she was pregnant and now he's moping around the house because of it."

"Look, you don't know anything about that…"

"I get that you're mad. But don't take it out on me. You don't have to yell at me for being a girl. I can't help that you have a Y chromosome and I don't."

"I never yelled at you…"

"You didn't have to. You made it pretty clear that you hate women because of what she did to you. Well, just so you know, I would never do that to you or anyone. You may have had bad luck with girls in the past but I'm not like that. I don't judge you because you're a guy and guys have burnt me before so don't you dare judge m-"

Suddenly Alex found her rant interrupted by Cody's lips smashing against her own. Startled, she took a second to realize exactly what was going on before closing her eyes and kissing him back.

"I never thought that about you," Cody said, breaking away for a moment. He kissed her again and pushed her down against the couch. He had never enjoyed studying so much in his life.

**TBC…**

* * *


	16. SoGood Talk

Logan couldn't tell how long his phone had been ringing

Hey guys. I told you getting that one shot out would help my muse! Haha. I can't believe I got this posted tonight but I did. I hope you enjoy. Don't forget to leave those wonderful reviews

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gilmore Girls

**Chapter 16**

**So…Good Talk **

His eyes were closed. Behind his lids, a picture of a stadium filled with thousands of people, painted his mind. He could feel the excitement, the rush, the hope – hope that his player would slide into home. It seemed an unlikely scenario, considering the fact that his team had yet to score a run. In fact, they seemed to be stuck on first base. However, he couldn't contain his astonishment as a bold hit from the batter sent the ball flying and second kept getting closer and closer.

If only that damn baseman didn't have such outrageous catching skills.

A grunt of discomfort broke him out of his daze. "What's wrong?" The grunter asked.

"It won't…" Cody started to say through his heavy pants. "…unhook."

"It's a snap." Sensing his embarrassment, Alex pulled him down for another lusty kiss. "It's okay."

Within a matter a seconds, Cody's finger deftly pushed down and, after a quick shimmy and a toss from Alex, he was met with a sight words couldn't describe. Nothing could have prepared him for image in front of him. No movie or magazine could even come close to the sight of her real flesh exposed to him. It didn't take long before his hands and lips were worshiping every inch of her skin.

"You are so beautiful," Cody whispered as he placed a trail of kisses from her neck to her belly button. With a moan, Alex reached up and stripped him of his tee shirt so that her fingertips could run along his torso and caress every rise and crevice of his muscles.

"You're not so bad yourself," She whispered back.

Cody looked into her eyes for a second before capturing her lips in a passionate kiss. Alex's shifted her embrace so that her arms could wrap around him. She arched her back, pressing her chest into his and dug her fingernails into the skin of his back. They were so enthralled with each other that neither heard the thumping of feet making their way down the basement steps.

"Hey, kiddo, your mom wanted – Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!"

"Dad!' Cody screamed as his head whipped to the side to see his father standing behind the couch with his back turned to them, one hand covering his eyes. By this time, Alex had pulled the blanket that was thrown over the back of the couch up to her neck and buried her face beneath a pillow. "You can't just walk into whatever room you want without any waning whatsoever!"

"Yes, I've learned my lesson, thank you," Logan said, still not removing his hand from his eyes. He couldn't believe the irony. That he had gone his whole life never walking in on Jake, his clone, the playboy. Yet, here was Cody, the exact opposite, and he had just caught him with his girlfriend.

"Leave!" Cody shouted, breaking Logan out of his state of shock.

"Leaving," Logan said, hanging a left and making his way back up the stairs.

He already knew that tonight was not going to be fun. He was going to have to tell Rory. Rory was going to force him to have some kind of talk with the kid and then inflict some kind of horrible punishment that would make him out to be the bad guy.

Being a parent sucked sometimes.

* * *

He had driven an hour all the way here. He was tired, he was hungry, considering that he didn't manage to sallow a single forkful of the dinner his mother had brought up for him, and last but not least, he was completely terrified of what lay in front of him.

He didn't know what on earth had possessed him to come here. But after hours of sitting at his desk, staring at his computer screen, and waiting for her to sign on to her AIM account he simply couldn't take it anymore. He had to talk to her and he had to talk to her now.

That is why he now found himself standing on the front porch of her mother's home, trying to build up the courage to knock on the door. He found that he didn't have to, however, when the door swung open of its own accord and found himself starting at the face of the woman whom he blamed for the destruction of his relationship.

"Hello, Jake," She said, with a surprising amount of sympathy.

"Hi, Ms. Johnson," Jake said. "Is Becca home? I really need to talk to her."

Ms. Johnson sighed and bit her lip as she looked over the young man standing before her. Her daughter was in bad shape and the last thing she needed right now was more drama with her boyfriend showing up here randomly but she couldn't bring herself to say no to him, not with the way he looked. He was a mess. The only person she had seen who looked remotely similar to him was her daughter.

"Come in," She said, somewhat reluctantly. "She's in her room. But let me tell you something, Huntzberger, if you say one thing to hurt her tonight I will never let you in this house again. Got me?"

Jake shook his head. "I don't want to hurt her. I just….I just want to talk to her."

Ms. Johnson nodded her head and silently turned around, gesturing for Jake to follow her. She lead him down the hall to her daughter's room and knocked on the door, waiting a couple seconds for a reply and getting none. She knocked again.

"Yes?" Becca said weakly. Jake looked down at his feet.

"Rebecca, honey, you have a visitor."

Within a matter of seconds the door to her bedroom slowly opened, leaving her standing there in the doorway, dressed in a pair of black pajama pants with little yellow batman logos all over them and a plum tank top. Her hair was messy, looking as if it hadn't been combed in a while, and she was wearing no make up whatsoever. But to Jake she still looked beautiful.

When she saw him her eyes went wide in shock and she tuned to her mother, wearing an almost angry expression. Ms. Johnson held her hands up to clam he daughter.

"Sweetie, just talk to him," It was all she said before turning down the hall and disappearing into another room.

Becca looked at Jake who was still standing in the hall, staring at his feet. She sighed and stepped aside, making room in the doorway for him to fit through. "Come in."

Jake followed her order and entered her room, a place that he had never before set foot in. He looked around, smiling at the stuffed animals on the bed and the books on the shelves. Everything about this room screamed Becca and he found himself loving it instantly.

"Why are you here?"

Jake bit his lip and shrugged. "I needed to talk to you. I mean I'm pretty sure you're going to break up with me but…. If that's the case then I at least need to you tell me to my face. I need some kind of closure."

"I don't want to break up with you," Becca squeaked as she sat down on her bed and crossed her legs under her.

"What the hell do you mean you don't want to break up with me? You haven't talked to me in weeks."

Jake looked over to see his girlfriend sitting on her bed with her face buried in her hands. She was shaking her head back and forth, trying to compose herself, when suddenly she looked up at him, surprising him with her strong demeanor.

"I just need time to think, Jake. Everything has happened so fast. I don't know up from down anymore. I can't do this now. I can't think about this now. I have too many other things to think about. School is starting again. I don't have time. I don't have time to think about us or…or what happened…"

"Becca we lost a baby," Jake said desperately. Becca jumped up from her bed and started pacing her room.

"I can't talk about this now, Jake. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I know you deserve so much more than this….so much more than me…..but I just can't do it."

"Bec…"

"We lost a baby. I know," Becca said. "I was pregnant and now I'm not. It's probably for the better, don't you think?"

"I…"

"I mean we are _so _not old enough or responsible enough to have a child. This is a good thing what happened."

"You're not sad at all?" Jake said.

"I didn't say that," Becca said. "I just…. I can't bring myself to grieve for something that doesn't even feel real."

Jake bit his lip and nodded.

"I just need some time," Becca said again. "I'm going back to work tomorrow. I need to get back into the swing of things, clear my head…"

"Yea me too…"

"So I'll see you then?" Becca asked. Jake threw one last look at her and nodded.

"Yes," He said. "I guess I'll see you then."

With that he walked out of her bedroom and left.

* * *

A little less than an hour away another knock was heard on another bedroom door. This time, however, the occupant was much less willing to respond.

"Cody," Logan said before knocking again. "Cody, open the door. Your mother wants me to talk to you."

"I don't want to talk," Cody said. "I'm good. I'm thinking I'm just going to go to bed. Night. Love you."

Logan rolled his eyes and opened the door himself, ignoring the fact that his son obviously didn't want to talk to him. In all honesty, Logan didn't really want to have this talk either, however, he didn't really have a choice. If he left now, Rory would more than likely force him to sleep on the couch tonight and not only did he hate not sleeping next to his wife, his old age had made him much more susceptible to back aches.

"Dad, what the hell!?" Cody said, jumping off of his bed as his father walked into his bedroom uninvited.

"Sorry," Logan said. "You're not getting off that easily. We have to talk."

"I don't need to talk," Cody said. "And I know that you don't really want to talk about this either. So why don't we make this both easier on ourselves and make a deal. I won't tell Mom we didn't talk if _you _don't tell Mom we didn't talk."

Logan looked skyward for a moment, contemplating –

"No!" He said, shaking his head before he could finish his thought. "This is serious and we need to talk about it.'

"Dad, please…."

"I'm not going to get into anything like that….I just…..I just want to make sure that you know to be safe-"

"I know!"

"Accidents can still happen," Logan said. "Look at your brother. He knows just as much as you, probably more and yet something still happened. You need to take extra precautions. Is…is Alex on the pill?"

"I don't know, Dad!"

"Well you should find out," Logan said. "I'm not doing this to embarrass you, Cody. You're a smart kid and I know that you know to be careful. It's just my job as a father to make sure that you do."

Cody stayed silent.

"Alright," Logan said, patting his son on the knee. "I'm done here…. Oh! Your mother wanted me to let you know that you're grounded for two weeks and you're coming with her to Stars Hollow tomorrow."

"What!?"

"Night. Love you."

* * *

Morning had come and for Cody, it was a less than thrilling moment. Never in his life had he been so unhappy to have a day off of school. Why on earth did teachers have to have institutes? They were punishing their students by forcing them to spend a day with their families.

If he had to sit for one more second in this car he was going to kill himself. If he had to put up with more little whisper followed by a giggle in the backseat he was going to kill himself. If he had to hear his mother open her mouth and emit a painfully unpleasant sound that was supposed to be singing one more time he was going to kill himself. Bottom line…. Cody Huntzberger was probably going to kill himself by the time this trip was over.

"You're going to love Stars Hollow," Ellie whispered to Ian in the backseat. He could see them cuddling together through the right rear window and he felt himself getting sick. "It's so amazing. Its small and pretty and everyone there is so nice and they all know each other. We should move into a town just like it and raise a family there."

"I don't care where we move as long as you're there," Ian whispered back.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

"Shut up! Please!" Cody moaned out loud.

"You shut up. You little ass monkey. If you don't want to hear us talk then don't eavesdrop into our conversation."

"Don't hold your disgusting conversations in a car where everyone can hear you! You make me want to vomit."

"Mother, tell him to listen to his iPod and mind his own fraking business."

"Lorelai, please stop yelling at your brother. You're supposed to be more mature than him."

"Yea, _Lorelai_, you're supposed to be more mature than me."

"And Cody! I am sick and tired of your complaining. I'm sorry you have such an aversion to your sister's happiness but I don't want to hear an outburst out of you again. All you've done since the second we left this morning is complain. I can't take it anymore."

"I didn't even want to come to this stupid thing in the first place. I just wanted to stay home," Cody mumbled as he crossed his arms over his chest and sunk down in his seat.

"You expect me to trust you enough to leave you at home by yourself all day after what your father found you doing the other night? I don't think so."

"Jake always got to stay home when you went to do your stupid girl things!"

"Jake was never caught doing something that caused me not to trust him, young man. You were. And this isn't a _stupid girl thing_. We're picking out a cake. There's going to be a lot of cake and Ian is here also!"

"That's bull shit!" Cody said. "Just because Jake didn't get caught doesn't mean he wasn't doing it. He was so much worse than I am and he got to stay home whenever he wanted."

"Well maybe you should work on not getting caught then. And you watch your language in front of me young man or you'll end up coming to a lot more _stupid girl things_ with me." Rory said.

"Ellie just cursed like _two seconds _ago and you didn't yell at her!"

"Did she? I didn't notice."

Cody grunted and turned away, looking out the window and making a point not to look at any of his family members. This whole day was going to be a royal pain in the ass. First they were meeting his grandmother at her inn and then they would make their way to Westins where they would eat cake and partake in endless girl talk for hours upon hours. Next, as if the girl talk and cake weren't enough, they would make their way to Hartford to have dinner with his great-grandparents where he would actually have to be well dressed and well-mannered, something that he hated.

It sucked.

"Hey Cody," Ian said from the back seat.

"What?"

"Well….I was talking to Luke and while the girls are doing the cake thing we were actually going to go down to some pond and go fishing. You're more than welcome to come if you'd like."

* * *

Logan couldn't tell how long his phone had been ringing. It must have been a while. His thoughts just weren't in work right now. He couldn't concentrate on anything. He had considered taking the day off but Rory had forced him to come to the office, claiming that he needed a day to get his mind off of his brooding son. She more than anyone should have realized that there was no way in hell he would be able to think about anything other than his child's well-being, no matter where he was or what he was doing.

He had not been so worried about Jake since…well….to tell the truth his eldest son seemed to get himself in positions where Logan worried about him all the time. But this had to be the most worried he had ever been. He was worried before he had found out about the baby. During the time that Jake was moping around the house about his break-up Logan knew exactly how he felt. His and Rory's relationship had its ups and downs. They must have broken up three times before they became engaged and each time Logan felt like his heart had been ripped out. He hated to see his son go through that.

With the news of the miscarriage, Jake had gone from mopey to clinically depressed. He stayed in his room all the time, only leaving to go to the restroom and come downstairs for dinner. Ellie was the only person he really allowed to talk to him. Logan had tried several times to get him to open up to no avail. Rory was able to get him to talk about things other than Rebecca and the baby but every time she broached the topic he would close up.

Jake was supposed to come into the office today. Rory had said she would try her hardest to get him up and out of bed. Logan wanted nothing more than to see his son functioning again. Even if he just came in and say around doing nothing it would be an improvement. And Logan was willing to take whatever he could get.

"Mr. Huntzberger?" Startled, Logan jumped up to meet the face of one of his interns, one he was definitely not expecting to see.

"Rebecca!" Logan said, confused by her presence at the office so shortly after her miscarriage. "What are you doing here?"

"Mr. Maze asked me to bring these files to you," She replied, walking over to his desk and placing them down, avoiding eye contact at all costs.

"No," Logan said. "I mean…what are you doing here, now? Are you feeling alright? I thought you would have taken some more time off, considering…"

Rebecca nodded and interrupted him. "I'm feeling great. Why wouldn't I be?"

Logan sighed and sat back in his chair, rubbing a tired hand over his eyes. He didn't know how much more of this he could take. "Listen, if you need some time off I perfectly understand. I can't begin to imagine what you're going through right now. We're all just so terribly sorry. Jake's a mess."

"I don't need time off. I'm fine," Rebecca said. She nodded and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I don't have anything to be upset about, really. Here's your file. I need to be going unless there's anything else you need me to do?"

Logan shook his head. "No, no, I'm fine. Go ahead."

Rebecca turned around and hastily made her way out of her ex-boyfriend's father's office. She was sick of the pity and she didn't understand why people kept treating her like she was an invalid. So she was pregnant for a while and now she wasn't. She wasn't ready to be a mother anyway. If anything this was a really good thing what happened. No baby should have to be raised by a wreck of a person like herself. She couldn't be a mother and Jake certainly could not be a father.

"Becca, what are you doing here?"

Rebecca groaned as she looked over to see her friend Maggie walking by her side. If one more person asked why she was here she was going to go postal.

"I work here, Maggie. Just like you."

"Well I know you work here but…I mean….I heard about…you know…"

"Heard about what, Maggie?" Becca asked.

"I heard that you were in the hospital because…well…"

"Who told you!?" Becca's eyes went wide in shock. She never thought about the possibility that anyone other than the people she was really close to would know. Maggie paused and took on a cautionary tone, realizing that what she was going to say was not going to be taken lightly.

"Everyone knows," she said "Gregg Barnett had a New Years Eve party and he dragged Jake there. The entire time he was telling people to cheer Jake up because of what happened. By the end of the night everyone knew and a lot of people mentioned it in their blogs."

"My miscarriage is in the blogosphere?"

Maggie nodded. "Everyone was talking about how horrible Jake looked. They said that they had never been to a party that he wasn't the center of and the entire time he sat on the couch just drinking beer not talking to anyone."

"I can't believe this."

"I'm so so sorry, Bec. You must be a mess right now. I can't believe you're here. Why don't you go home? Ask Mr. Huntzberger. He of all people would give you the time off. I mean….it was his gra-"

"I don't need time off, Maggie!" Becca yelled. "I need everyone to leave me alone, okay! I'm not sick. I'm fine. I was pregnant and now I'm not. I wasn't ready to have a baby anyway. I don't see how this is a bad thing. I was sad at first yes but now…. I'm not. Okay, I'm not sad anymore. I can see now that this was all a huge mistake. I'm not an emotional wreck. I'm fine. I'm happy. So just leave me the hell alone. Okay. Leave me alone!"

Rebecca turned around and slammed right into a tall blonde. She looked up and met the face of the last person she wanted to see at this moment. Jake was looking down at her with a look of complete sadness and sorrow on his face. Becca looked down and pushed past him, practically running toward the bathroom. Jake watched her go before he made his way into his father's office. He shouldn't have come.

He knocked on the door and let himself in. Logan was still sitting at his desk. He had the phone up to his ear and was obviously in the middle of a conversation that he was not very interested in. The minute he saw his son he quickly ended the conversation and hung up the phone.

"Hey," Logan said. "I'm glad you came. How are you feeling?"

"Fine," Jake lied. "Do you need me to do anything?"

Logan took a deep breath and started rummaging through some papers on his desk. Jake took a few steps forward and waited for his father to give him whatever he needed to do.

"There are some things that need to be proofed if you want to look at those."

"Sure."

Logan sighed. "Look, Jake if you want to leave I understand. I wasn't expecting…"

Logan was cut off by the sound of his office door slamming open. Both of the men turned to the door to see Rebecca with tears flowing heavily out of her bright red eyes. Her chin was quivering as she stared at Jake and more tears kept falling. She let out a shaky sob and closed her eyes tightly.

"I just got my period."

Jake ran forward and caught her in his arms as her legs went weak below him.

* * *

**TBC…**

So there it is. I hope you guys don't hate Becca… she just needed that final kick into reality. Any the next chapter will be the gang in Stars Hollow and a pretty emotional talk between Jake and Becca. Thanks! Pleeeeeeeaaaassseee review.


	17. Death by Cake

Hey, guys! It's been a while again hasn't it? Sorry about that. At least it hasn't been a year. Thank you all so much for staying faithful to my stories I'm so grateful! I hope you enjoy the next chapter! Please review! The more reviews I get the more excited I am to write the next chapter.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gilmore Girls

**Chapter Seventeen **

**Death by Cake**

Perhaps she just wasn't a Gilmore Girl. That was the only think Ellie could think as she watched, mouth agape, as her mother and grandmother ordered yet another sample of cake. There must have been ten empty plates in front of her, some of them full with the remains cakes that didn't make the cut, others completely empty. Ellie was stuffed to the brim.

"Are you ordering more cake?" she asked her mother.

"Yeah," Rory said. "Just more of the chocolate fudge and the carrot cake and the red velvet."

"Oh, so you're just trying to narrow it down?" Ellie asked. She had long before given the job of choosing the cake to her mother seeing as she had much better taste in desserts than Ellie did.

Lorelai laughed. "Silly Ellie. Sookie is making your cake."

"Yeah," her mother said. "We're just taking these home cause they were the best."

"Sookie is making my cake?" Ellie asked in disbelief.

"Of course she is," Rory answered.

"Did you really think she would let you get away with getting anyone else to make your cake?" Lorelai asked, leaning forward in a whisper so that no one would hear. "You, my only granddaughter, only receive the best."

"Well what are we doing here then?!"

"Ellie," Rory started, looking at her daughter as if she had taught her nothing over the past twenty-three years of her life. "We aren't going to pass up a chance to go around town eating as many cake samples as we please. That's one of the best things about getting married."

"_The _best thing if you ask me," Lorelai said.

"It's certainly up there."

Ellie shook her head and sat back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. "J'espère que ta panse explodera," she muttered.

"What was that?" Lorelai asked.

"I said, 'I love you,' Grams."

"No French!" Rory scolded. "Remember our rule?"

"Yeah, that's right," Lorelai said. "When you speak French it makes Michel happy and freaks me out. I can only handle Michel cheerfulness in very small portions over the year. And he already used up a good portion of it when I told him you were getting married. He was excited all day. I didn't have the heart to tell him he wasn't allowed to come."

Ellie rolled her eyes. "Of course Michel is invited, Grams. But there are going to be plenty of Brits there so you should probably tell him to be on his best behavior."

"As if I can control Michel's behavior," Lorelai said. "It's so cool that you're marrying a British guy. I wish my daughter would have married someone cool like that. I got stuck with boring old Logan."

Rory rolled her eyes. "Logan was far from boring when we got married."

"Ah, yes," Lorelai reminisced somewhat bitterly. During their relationship Lorelai had always had a fluctuating opinion of Logan. She had never really gone back to loving him after the incident at her parents' vow renewal and it was always oh-so-easy for her to find his flaws and point them out to her only daughter.

"I remember that one time at Friday night dinner when I walked-"

"Mom!" Rory practically shouted. "Not in front of Ellie, please."

"Oh no, please continue, Grams," Ellie begged, ignoring the scathing look her mother was sending her from across the table. It was payback for forcing her to come sample a mountain of cake with no intention of actually choosing one for her wedding.

"Well, grand-daughter," Lorelai said, also ignoring Rory as she seethed, "It was about a year after your parents hooked up. They were still a couple of bright-eyed and bushy tailed little kids and we were at your great-grandparents' house for Friday night dinner. It was pot roast that night – your mother's favorite – and all of a sudden I noticed her getting all fidgety at the table…"

"Mom…"

"So I asked if she was okay and she said she wasn't feeling well. And my mother noticed that she was looking a little flushed so Rory excused herself to the bathroom and your Dad, being the _gentleman _that he was, decided to follow her just to make sure that she was doing alright."

Ellie snickered over at her mother.

"Now, I, being naïve, was a little concerned that maybe she was feeling a little sick so I went to the bathroom to check on her but on the way I passed your great-granddad's study to find them inside, your Mom pressed up against the wall with her dressed hiked up and her legs wrapped around your Dad's waist."

"Mother!" Ellie exclaimed, scandalized. "I can't believe you did that! Daddy would never do something like that."

Lorelai guffawed. "Sweetie, I can tell you stories about your Daddy…"

"Mom, that's enough!"

"Aw, we embarrassed her," Lorelai teased. "But, sweetie, seriously, why do you think your Dad hated every boy you've ever brought home? He was terrified you'd find someone just like him."

* * *

Almost an hour had passed. Jake knew this because in the time that he had spent in his father's office he hadn't taken his eye off the clock.

He didn't know what to say and experience had shown him that when he opened his mouth during times like these he always managed to make the situation worse. So as it was, he had decided to sit back and wait for Becca to say the first word. It seemed, however, that she was struggling with that as well.

"Do…" Jake began to talk. Surely, saying something completely unrelated to the issue at hand would be fine, wouldn't it? "Do you want some water or..."

"No, thank you. I'm fine."

"Are you sure? Cause…"

"I'm fine."

Jake nodded his head. He looked over at his girlfriend? Ex-girlfriend? He didn't know what she was anymore. They had never really broken up but the way they had been acting toward each other certainly couldn't have been conducive to a relationship. Becca was staring out the window into the New York sky, biting her fingernail, her eyes still red from crying.

"Becca, I-"

"I'm sorry," she interrupted.

Jakes mouth hung open. "I.. It's okay."

Becca shook her head violently. "No it's not okay. It's not okay at all."

She had started crying again. Jake looked back at the clock. Crying girls were never really his forte. Every time his sister or his mother would cry he would usually flee the room and leave his father to deal with it. But he couldn't leave now and even if he could he wouldn't have. It was his job to comfort her. He turned toward her again and reached up with his thumbs to brush her tears from her cheeks.

"Don't," she said, pushing his hand away. A needle went through his heart.

"I'm sorry."

Becca hiccupped. "Please don't look at me like that," she said. "You're making it worse."

Jake closed his eyes and shook his head. "I don't…" he took a deep breath, not wanting to sound harsh but not knowing what else to do at the moment. "I don't know what you want from me, Becca."

Her face scrunched up in a very unflattering manner and the tears started coming out even harder. Jake could no longer count on one hand the number of times he had made this girl cry. It wasn't a very happy feeling.

"I don't want you to feel sorry for me. I don't deserve it," Becca explained.

"I don't feel sorry for you," Jake said. "I just want you to stop crying for five minutes so that we can actually have a conversation."

Becca nodded and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself so that she could look him in the eye without breaking down. When she finally achieved her goal, Jake sent her a look signifying that he wasn't going to speak until she did. She nodded.

"I want you to know," she said, struggling to keep her voice even. "…that I meant it when I said I loved you."

Jake nodded. "I…"

"You don't have to say anything," she said.

"I want to say something," Jake said. "I want to know… I just…. I don't understand how…if you loved me you could just cut me out of your life like that and… not tell me about…"

Becca's face did the ugly scrunching thing again. "I got scared."

"Scared of what? Of me?" Jake asked, his voice thick with skepticism.

"No," Becca insisted. "I could never be scared of you."

"Then what?"

"Everything was moving so fast," Becca cried. "We've known each other for a few months and suddenly I'm taking you home and saying that I love you and I'm pregnant. I don't do things like that. My mother did things like that and she ended up jilted and alone. I don't want that to happen to me."

"Bec, I would never…"

"I was pregnant, Jacob," Becca emphasized. "Do you have any idea what that would have meant for us? I would have had to drop out of school. My life would have been completely turned upside down. We've been dating for a couple months. It would have completely destroyed us."

"You don't know that."

"Don't be naïve, Jake!"

"I'm not being naïve, I'm just saying that we would have worked something out. Let's please not talk about our _dead _baby like it was some giant burden that we're better off without. I can't do that. You're making me sick."

"I never said that a baby would have been a giant burden!"

"You implied it."

"I was just saying that we weren't ready and I was scared!" Becca said, tears once again clouding her eyes. "I had a right to be scared. We can hardly take care of ourselves!"

"Well, it doesn't really matter now does it?" Jake said, turning away from her bitterly.

"Don't," Becca said. "Don't look at me like that. You weren't scared. You never had to deal with the fact that you were going to have to give birth and care for something that you had no idea how to care for. You never sat up all night wondering what the hell you were going to do about money, about a place to keep a baby, about the huge chance that you epically fail and completely screw up a human being because you were such a horrible parent. You have no idea what that was like so don't you dare judge me!"

"Well, whose fault is that?" Jake asked.

"That's not fair."

"It's not?" Jake asked. "Did you ever stop and think for a second that maybe if you had told me about this you could have stopped being so scared. That we would have figured something out together."

"Jake, I know you," Becca said. "You would have run so fast all that would have been left was a Jake-shaped cloud."

Jake shook his head and bit his lip. "Maybe you're right," he admitted, while shaking his head. "But I would have come back."

A brief silence fell between them. Both of them sat, contemplating the words that had just passed between them. Becca continued to cry silently and Jake wondered briefly how it was possible for so much water to leak out of a person so small.

" I don't think we're going to make this work between us anytime soon."

"Bec, don't-"

"No, listen, please," she said. "I said before that I meant it when I said I loved you. And that's true. But I can't deal with this right now. I need time. I need to think and mourn…"

"We can do that together," Jake reasoned.

Becca shook her head. "No, I need to figure it out myself. I need time to do this myself. I don't want you to have to pick me up and carry me. I want to be able to pick myself up."

"So…" Jake said. "I guess this is it then?"

"I just need time," Becca said. "I don't expect you to sit around and wait for me. I don't want you to do that. But… if… once I get over this…if…I mean if you want to try again..."

Jake nodded. "Right."

"I'm so sorry," Becca said. "I do love you. I do. You have no idea…"

"I…" Jake said. "I'm not going to lie to you to make you feel better." Jake shuddered. "That didn't come out right."

"I know," Becca said. "You don't need to explain."

* * *

This marked the third time in a minute that Cody's step-grandfather had decided to clear his throat and, since he had never been a smoker, Cody imagined that it had less to do with lung disease and more to do with his hatred for cell phones. Cody's just happened to be glued to his ear at this very moment. Upon Ian's invitation to attend the male bonding session he and Luke had planned this afternoon, Cody realized that this might very well be his only chance to speak to his prospective girlfriend all day. His mother would have snatched his phone out of his hand the instant she saw it.

Rory held a very different attitude toward Cody than she ever held with Jacob. Perhaps it was because he was her youngest. Perhaps it was because Cody was the child that took after her the most. Cody wasn't sure. But her reluctance to let him grow up had been a thorn in his side since the moment he reached a height taller than her. Needless to say, she didn't take to his girlfriends very well. And since this was the one chance he had to be away from her all day, he wasn't going to let it slip away.

He ignored Luke and decided to abandon his fishing pole. Leaving his spot on the bridge, he walked over to a nearby tree and plopped down.

"Sorry, my grandpa was shooting me daggers out the sides of his eyes."

"_So you thought that completely leaving would make the situation better?_" Alex asked with a bit of a giggle.

"Well, it's certainly less annoying. Don't worry, he's not going to do anything. I suck at fishing anyway. One time he took Jake and I camping when I was like six or something and I thought I caught a fish. Turned out to be a shoe. And then I cast off and the hook ended up getting stuck on Jake's head. There were like…rivers of blood."

"_Oh my God!"_

"That was actually kind of funny," Cody said with a smile. "Although later on he _accidentally _burned me with his marshmallow toasting stick. I don't think it was much of an accident."

"_Aw, poor baby." _

"Hey, don't mock," Cody said. "I was abused as a child."

"_Oh yes, what a life of hardship." _

"Hey, growing up with money isn't everything, you know. You try growing up with a perfect sister and a brother who is always the center of everyone's attention. It can be kind of daunting."

"_Yes, I'm sure your parents don't care about you at all. That's why they acted like hospice nurses when you were sick and flipped out when you risked getting a venereal disease from some hussy in your basement." _

"Hey, don't talk about her like that. That's my girlfriend!"

A silence came over the phone and for a moment, Cody wondered what was wrong with her. Then he suddenly remembered, much to his great despair, that Alex was not his girlfriend. They were not even dating. The only time that he had called her his girlfriend was in his dreams and those were hardly grounds for reality. In those dreams he was also finished with high school, attending Stanford and thus living in California with a whole continent separating him from his crazy family.

"_Your… wha- I'm sorry?" _

"I uh….I…. I mean….my friend. My friend who is a girl…who you are talking about… don't talk about her like that…haha…"

Shit.

"_No…you called me your girlfriend." _

"I didn't mean…"

"_Am I your girlfriend?" _Alex asked hesitantly.

There was no getting around it now. He had to face his damned Freudian slip like a man. Too bad he was horrible in situations such as these. He was simply not a ladies man, yet another trait that made him wonder if Logan Huntzberger was actually his father or if his mother had at one time had a clandestine affair with an accountant or someone equally boring to produce a son such as himself.

"I…I mean I guess…. I guess I wouldn't mind… if you wanted to be… I mean….that would be cool, I guess. If…you wanted."

"_I guess I wouldn't mind…being your girlfriend." _

"Oh that's…that cool. So…I guess….you're my girlfriend."

"_And you're my boyfriend." _

"Right."

"_Right." _

"So we should-"

Cody was suddenly cut off by a very angry, almost Amazonian scream. He saw his mother walking toward him with his grandmother and his sister snickering in his wake. If he thought he was in deep shit before…

"Cody Richard Huntzberger! You are grounded, young man! You get off that phone this instant and if I catch you with it again I will rip it out of your fingers and give it to the five-year-old down the street as a brand new toy!!!"

"Shit, Alex, I have to go…I'll talk to you later."

"CODY!"

"…I hope."

* * *

In his sixteen years of life, Cody Huntzberger had come to expect certain things. For instance, he had come to expect the fact that when his mother and grandmother got together, he would spend the day wondering what the hell they were talking about. He expected his brother to beat him in a game of one-on-one basketball. He expected his father to still believe he was capable of beating Cody in a game of one-on-one and then get huffy when he inevitably lost. He expected to barely pass his math classes. Last but not least, he expected to be insanely bored every time his mother dragged him to dinner with his great-grandparents.

The long and tiresome day had finally reached its final step. This, however, was the longest and most unbearable step he would have to get through. Ten minutes ago the entire family had entered the Gilmore house and taken their seats in the living room. Ian and Ellie were still being disgustingly affectionate and his mother was still sending him death glares every time his face turned into a scowl. Honestly, what gave her the impression that she could control his facial expressions? Besides didn't he have a right to be upset after she took away his phone?

To make matters even worse, Cody had to get by the evening knowing that everyone else in the room would be helped through the night with the aid of alcohol. He, however, was reduced to an endless supply of Coca-Cola. It was enough to cause his knee to bounce uncontrollably but, unfortunately, it did nothing to help time pass faster. Perhaps when Jake arrived his misery would have company. It would be even more amusing considering Jake was a borderline alcoholic in the first place and pretending to be an innocent law-abiding young man in front of his grandparents had always taken a significant toll out of him. It was quite fun to watch.

"So, Ian," his great-grandmother asked with a smile on her face as she fixed her skirt and scooted back in her chair, careful not to spill her drink. "You have a beautiful accent. Where in England are you from?"

"Oh, thank you, Mrs. Gilmore. I'm from London actually."

"Please, dear, call me Emily, we're all family here," Cody fought back a scoff. He wondered briefly if her reaction would have been the same if Ian were sporting a cockney accent and an untailored suit. Apparently his mother could read his mind because she shot him another look over the rim of her martini glass. His grandmother, however, seemed to mirror his thoughts and sent him a wink while Rory wasn't looking.

He checked his watch again. Just what time were his Dad and brother supposed to be here?

"Oh, I haven't been to London in ages," Emily went on. "Tell me, has it changed much?"

Ian chuckled politely. "No, it's pretty much the same. Rainy. Crowded. Silly men in furry hats."

Emily laughed as if she were decades younger and flirting with Robert Pattinson instead of Ian Cromwell. Cody rolled his eyes.

"Actually, I haven't been home in months. They might have finally gotten round to blowing up Parliament by now. I would never know."

Richard laughed a booming laugh. "Well, I think we would have heard about that by now, my boy."

"You're probably right, Sir."

Ian sat back and leaned into Ellie, his left hand drifting to her thigh, which he affectionately squeezed. Ellie smiled up at him and Cody threw up a little in his mouth.

"Sorry I'm late, everyone!"

Cody whipped his head up to see his father walking into the room with a huge smile on his face. It was about time. He looked past Logan for Jake but to his surprise and confusion did not find his brother anywhere.

"I got a bit caught up at work but everything's settled now. I hope you weren't waiting on me."

If it was at all possible, the smile on Emily Gilmore's face grew even wider upon Logan's entrance. She rose from her seat and greeted him, hooking her arm through his and leading him to the couch.

"Not at all, Logan," Emily said. "We were just getting to know your future son-in-law."

"Where's Jake?" Rory asked, concern lacing her tone.

Logan cleared his throat as he sat down next to his wife and mirrored the earlier movements between Ian and Ellie. Cody noticed that the moment his father realized he was in the same position as his future son-in-law his eyes narrowed into slits and Ian's hand gently drifted off of his sister's thigh. It was no wonder he thought his father was some kind of superhero when he was little. He could control minds.

"Jake…had a little emergency," Logan explained. Rory's eyes went wide in distress.

"Emergency?" she all but screeched. "Is he hurt? Should we leave?"

"No. No. Jake is fine," Logan assured her. "It's….rather personal. I told him it would be all right if he bowed out of dinner this evening. I hope that doesn't upset anyone."

Great. Now Cody was completely alone in his misery. His mother looked as if she was ready to explode in concern. It boggled his mind. His father had just told the woman that Jake was fine. What was the big deal?

"Logan, can I talk to you in the study?"

Rory decided to ignore the wink her mother sent her as she left the living room with her husband yet, surprisingly she still wasn't able to suppress her blush as she entered the study, her mind instantly returning to that moment years ago. She briefly wondered if she would ever be able to get her husband to do something like that ever again.

"Why are you blushing?" Logan asked, sending his wife a confused glance.

"What? I'm not blushing." Rory countered, yet his catching her red-faced only seemed to make her blush grow. They had been married almost twenty-five years yet she still blushed at the memory of sex with him.

Logan held the study door open for his wife and shook his head. "Whatever."

"What's going on?" Rory demanded as soon as the door was shut. "What happened? Is he hurt?"

"No, he's not hurt. He's fine. I just said that."

"Did he get arrested again!?" Rory asked. "I swear to God, Logan. I am going to kill you for passing along your genes!"

"Jake is fine,' Logan said. "He didn't get arrested. He's not in the hospital."

"Then what happened?"

Logan sighed. "Becca got her uh...you know… today at the office."

"What?" Rory asked, looking at her husband as if he had grown another head. Logan was looking down at the floor, his eyes refusing to meet hers. He let out a frustrated sigh.

"You _know_," he continued. "That thing….that you… get… She got it and she was…uh….upset."

"What?" Rory asked. Logan gave her a look that could kill. "A….progress evaluation???"

"Ace!"

"What?! Logan, I have no idea what you're talking about. Could you use English please?"

"She started her…." Logan closed his eyes. "…menstrual cycle this afternoon."

Rory looked at him seriously for a moment before letting loose a few giggles that could not be held in. Logan's face dropped and he looked at her with piercing eyes.

"You knew what I meant that whole time, didn't you?"

Rory sniggered. "Yes. I just wanted to hear you say it. Who's blushing now?"

Logan rolled his eyes and turned around, clearly frustrated with his wife's little joke at his expense. Perhaps it was because he hated receiving bruises to his fragile ego or perhaps it was because he had witnessed Becca's meltdown in his office that afternoon and didn't see anything to laugh about. Rory reached out and grabbed his hand in hers and he turned back around to be met by her somber face.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't be making jokes. I know," Rory said.

"She showed up at work this morning like everything was fine and Jake ran into her and they hardly said two words to each other. A few minutes later she came into my office in hysterics because she had gotten her period. Jake had to pick her up and carry her over to the couch. She was completely inconsolable."

"Poor thing," Rory said. "She is kind of a mess, isn't she?"

"Rory…"

"Well!" Rory defended. "I don't have much sympathy for her after what she did to Jake. I'm terribly sorry that she lost that baby. I mean, it was my grandchild. But we both know that they couldn't have taken care of a child. We would have ended up taking care of it and I would have, gladly, you know that. I would have loved that little baby like nothing else in the world. But perhaps it's better that now Jake can have children when he's ready to care for them on his own."

"With someone else?" Logan asked.

"I never said that."

"You sort of implied it."

"Well, do you blame me!?" Rory asked. "I mean, you saw how he moped around for weeks pining after her. She never even let him know that they were broken up, that she was pregnant. What kind of girl toys with a boy like that?"

"I remember….a brief period of time where I wasn't sure if we were broken up…."

"How. Dare. You."

"Rory…" Logan winced.

"No! What is that supposed to mean, Logan? That you still haven't forgiven me for something that happened over twenty years ago?! Maybe I should remind you of the time when you brought another girl to my grandparents' vow renewal after not talking to me for weeks!"

"That was….completely…. That's completely off the point! I'm not trying to open old wounds here. I'm just saying that no one is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes in relationships. You have. I have. Rebecca has. And I'm sure that even your perfect little babies have."

"Logan…"

"No, Rory, you need to listen to me for a second," Logan said. "I know you love them. I know that you want what is best for them and you never want them to get hurt. I know you want to protect them from all the people that will come into their lives and hurt them but at the end of the day you have to remember that love hurts. It's never going to be easy. They aren't going to find the perfect person that never brings them heartache and never makes them cry. I love you so much and I know that you love me and we've been very happy over the years but there have also been times that we've made each other cry. It's inevitable. You have to let them live."

Logan paused, turned his eyes away from his wife and focused on the door. It was as if he could see through it outside, to the living room where his perfect little girl was sitting in the arms of a man that was going to take her away from him – a man that was not perfect, one that would make her laugh, make her cry, make her wonder why she ever married him in the first place, and then do something that would remind her. Ian wasn't perfect. But neither was he. Neither was anyone.

"And I guess I have to let them live too," Logan concluded. "And you have to give Cody his phone back. He's growing up. You can't punish him for it."

"He's my baby."

"And he always will be. But you've got to let him be happy. Alex makes him happy."

Once Logan finally managed to get his son's phone out of his wife's purse, the couple solemnly made their way back to the living room. As they passed by, Logan managed to refrain from glaring at Ian, which was not as easy as it sounded. He also managed to slip his son his phone without drawing Rory's attention.

Cody looked up at him with a look of pure childlike joy. Logan couldn't help but smile back. It wasn't often when he received a genuine smile from his surly young son. Every time he did, he looked upon it like a personal triumph.

"Can I go call Alex?"

"No!" Both Logan and Rory yelled. Cody immediately flopped back in his seat and began muttering to himself.

Cody's happiness was almost always short-lived.

* * *

**TBC…**


	18. Epilouge

Have you died of shock? No? Well good! That means you are perfectly capable of reading the last chapter of Déjà vu. Now, before you get started I would like you all to know that this isn't the last chapter because I am rushing to get it done. It is the last chapter because I realized recently that the reason I was having the hardest time writing anything was because all the stories had come to fruition. An epilogue just seemed completely natural at the moment. So here it is. As you can see I am still here so I will hopefully continue this writing boost into my other fics. But for now please enjoy the final chapter of Déjà vu. Thank you all so much! Don't forget to review.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Gilmore Girls so please don't sue me.

**Summary**: Third Part in the Kissmet series. As the lives of his children are changing rapidly around him, Logan can't help but think he's seen some of it before – on the other side of the fence. Rogan.

**Chapter Eighteen**

**Epilogue**

Ties weren't Jake's favorite things in the world. Although, growing up as a Huntzberger he had certainly worn his fair share. Besides it wasn't like he could get away with _not _wearing a tie at his sister's wedding. Yet, for some reason it seemed like on this particular day his tie was especially suffocating. He had a feeling he knew why.

His sister was getting married. Yeah, he was her younger brother and its not as if he was overly protective of her – it was quite the opposite really – but she was getting married. He didn't know when he suddenly became old enough to have a sister who was getting married. What scared him even more was that logically the next wedding in his family would be his. He wasn't necessarily worried about the imminent commitment of marriage – being in a relationship with Becca, as big a train wreck as it was had taught him a lot about the benefits of commitment. Plus, his parents had been married for years and they were sickeningly happy. It was the fact that he suddenly felt so _old _that slightly freaked him out.

He couldn't voice his opinions of course, because if his parents heard their newly twenty-one year old son say that he felt old they would laugh him out of New York. But he still felt it and he didn't understand why people didn't think he was allowed to freak out about his age. For the past three years he had found himself in some kind of limbo in which time didn't really seem to pass. In his head he was _still _fresh out of high school. With his sister's wedding he was suddenly slapped in the face with the fact that he _wasn't_ fresh out of high school. He was going to be out of college soon and his little brother would be the one fresh out of high school. He wasn't a kid anymore. He was an adult. And he didn't remember when he had signed up for this change in identity.

Suddenly the fact that he had no idea what he wanted to do with his life was weighing upon him. He was considering careers that he had never felt the _slightest _interest in simply because they were practical. He thought about going to law school. He thought about learning more about computers because the world was never filled with too many techies. He really scared himself when he considered joining the Marine Corps just so he wouldn't starve when he graduated. And he knew he was being completely ridiculous because he came from a wealthy family and he _knew _that he would never be in want for a job. But for some reason this year he had the strongest urge to pull himself up by his own bootstraps. For the first time in his life he didn't want any handouts from his parents.

He had learned this past year that he had a natural talent for journalism – but of course he did he was a Huntzberger _and _a Gilmore. But no matter how many articles he had printed above the fold it never changed the fact that he didn't find any joy in what he was doing. He was a writing robot, cranking out stories as the came. But it certainly wasn't his passion. Cody was the next in line for the Huntzberger throne. And today Jake was prepared to tell his father what he thought he wanted. He wasn't sure. He didn't know if he would ever be sure. But for the first time in his life he had an idea about what he wanted to do, and an idea was certainly better than nothing.

"What the hell are you doing in here? Why are you taking longer to get ready than I am? There are people seating themselves out there! You're supposed to be an usher! Mom _made _me give you a part in the wedding since Ian had all his own groomsmen and _this _is how you repay me? If you're not out there in ten seconds I will saw your balls off you selfish narcissistic prick!"

Jake stared as his sister mouth agape as she barged into the bathroom in a flash of white lace. She had been screaming all day so it wasn't like he was particularly surprised. The Gilmore women had a tendency to be perfectionists and Ellie was no exception. But it suddenly hit Jake that as insane as she was right now this was the first time he had seen her in her gown. Her hair was fixed in a loose up do with soft curs framing her face. Her dress hugged every one of her curves in a flattering but modest way and it sparkled even in the florescent light of the bathroom. He didn't say a word about her rant and rather just smiled, approaching her very slowly, and wrapped his arms tightly around her.

"You look beautiful."

"Stop trying to get off the hook-" Ellie yelled, trying to push him away, but Jake just held on tighter.

"I'm not," he said. "I mean it. You look beautiful."

Ellie relaxed in his arms and returned the hug. She grabbed a paper towel from the dispenser behind her and dabbed delicately at her eyes. "Don't make me cry. It took my forever to get this make-up right."

It was too late of course and that was made apparent by the hitch in her voice. Jake released her from his hold and took a small step backward to see Ellie's red-rimmed eyes. He smiled at her and used his thumbs to brush her tears away, trying very carefully not to smudge her make-up.

"Ian is one lucky son of a bitch, you know?" He said. Ellie chuckled

"Stop it," she said.

"No, I'm serious," Jake said. "That guy has no idea how lucky he is to have you. And if he ever doubts it I'll kill him and make it look like an accident."

Ellie chuckled and turned to the mirror, trying to rid her eyes of the never-ending flow of water. "I'm such a mess," she said. "I haven't been able to stop crying all day."

"Trust me," Jake said. "You don't look like a mess."

Ellie smiled. "I'm gonna hide in here for a while. Tell Annie to come get me when she knows Ian won't run into me."

"Will do," Jake said. "And I will start seating people."

"Thanks."

Jake stole one last hug from his sister and kissed her on the forehead before leaving her alone to compose herself in the bathroom. When he walked out into the foyer he saw that his sister certainly hadn't been exaggerating when she said that the guests were filing in. The place was full of people he knew and even more people he didn't know. He couldn't help but wonder how many people were people that he didn't know but who knew _him. _So he was preparing himself for a series of awkward seatings.

"Jake! Jake! How ya doin', buddy!" He suddenly found himself with an armful of his Aunt Liz.

"Hey, Liz. Hey T.J." Jake said, returning the hug briefly.

"Damn this place sure is fancy," T.J. said, fixing his crooked bowtie. Jake looked at him and simply nodded has he took in the tweed jacket with elbow pads that the man was currently sporting. "I wonder if they have like…fruit punch in the water fountains. I always thought that would be the fanciest thing in the world – to have something other than water in water fountains."

"I'm not sure about that, T.J. I don't….I don't think they even have water fountains here."

"What kind of a place doesn't have a water fountain?" T.J. asked. "I take it back. The only thing fancier than having punch in a water fountain is to _not _have a water fountain."

Jake nodded again and Liz rolled her eyes in amusement. "Well we're gonna find Dullah. She was supposed to meet us here. But we'll see you at the reception, okay?"

"Okay, Liz," Jake answered.

Liz wasn't quite finished with him and took one more moment to pinch his check roughly. "You're just so handsome," she said with a chuckle and then they were gone. Jake took a deep sigh and prayed that T.J. would somehow manage to keep himself low key.

"Hey you," Jake smiled and turned around to see Gracie Cromwell smiling at him. He glanced up and down and smiled as he took in her beautiful emerald green dress and bright blue eyes. Ian's cousin hadn't left his side since the moment she had flown in for the festivities and he had a feeling that if ever there was a chance for him to hook up with someone tonight it would be with her. After all…that is what weddings were all about right?

He had finally come to grips with the fact that he and Becca were over a few weeks ago. He hadn't called, texted, emailed, facebooked, or anything for months. As much as he wished things had turned out differently between them he realized that it was about time to move on. And if his first step back into the world was with Gracie Cromwell…well he couldn't say that he had much to complain about. That would be one of the better one-night stands of his life.

"Hey," Jake said with a smile.

"You ready to kick the shit out some pews?" The redhead asked.

"I think I just might be," Jake answered with a smile. "If you want to handle the groom's side. I'll handle the brides."

"That should work," Gracie said.

"I'm going to go out on a limb and assume all the people who speak American are with me and all the ones who speak British are with you."

"Yes," Gracie said with a nod. "As George Bernard Shaw said, 'England and America are two countries separated by a common language.'"

"Yeah, we're very lucky for that," Jake said. She was smart too – not that it really mattered considering she would be on a plane back to the UK in two days. But, still it was sort of comforting to think that the first girl he was somewhat interested in after Becca wasn't just another bimbo. Perhaps his tastes had been elevated permanently.

"But what about the people who speak French…"

* * *

Logan wasn't doing as well as his eldest son on this particular day. He hadn't stopped shaking since the moment he woke up and he didn't have a beautiful young redhead to lift his spirits. Although he did have his beautiful wife…but she was so busy with Ellie and full of excitement that she didn't really have time to deal with his angst. Though she wouldn't have a choice later tonight when they were alone and his baby girl was gallivanting off to her wedding night with her _husband_.

But he couldn't think about that now. Now all he was going to think about was the fact that his little girl was standing next to him dressed in all white, looking more beautiful than he had ever seen her in her life. He was holding her arm tightly in his and he could tell that tears were threatening to fall from her eyes at any second. Her last bridesmaid, Jamie made her way down the aisle and Logan felt Ellie tense ever so slightly. He gave her hand a tight squeeze and she looked up at him and smiled.

"You ready, Cinderellie?" With that the tears finally slipped over her eye lids and Logan smiled reassuringly at her as he mirrored Jake's action before and brushed them away with his thumbs.

"You look so beautiful, baby," Logan said.

"Thanks, Daddy," Ellie said as she took a deep breath and tried to compose herself. She didn't want to walk down the aisle crying. She was hoping she would be able to get through the ceremony without shedding a tear but that thought went out the window hours ago.

As the music began to swell Ellie was suddenly overcome with nerves. The doors opened wide and she grasped onto her father for dear life. "Don't let go of me till we get there, _promise_."

Logan had to fight to keep in the tears himself. "I promise I won't let you go."

With that said they took their first step down the aisle. Logan noticed that the moment Ellie locked eyes with Ian her grip on him loosened. He continued down what seemed to be the longest walk of his life, walking past family, friends, and people he didn't know. He couldn't help but smile as he would walk along the groom's side of the church and hear the occasional 'Oh, she's beautiful.' from people who had never seen her before. When he passed his wife she shared a tearful smile with him and before he knew it he had reached Ian. As he passed her hand to his he cleared his throat to keep the tears down and leaned over to his son-in-law's ear.

"You take care of her," he said.

"I will, sir."

When he job was finished he took his seat next to his wife and began to stare painfully into the distance. Rory placed her hand on his knee and squeezed. He looked over at his wife and returned the gesture. Christopher clasped a hand on his shoulder from behind.

"Hurts, don't it?" He whispered in his ear. Logan could visualize the teasing smile on the man's face, took a deep breath, and decided to get back as his father-in-law at a later time.

"Dad, stop it! You did great, baby," Rory whispered to her husband. Logan smiled thankfully at her and she kissed his cheek.

"Thanks, Ace."

For the next hour he sat there as the service went on. He watched Ellie and Ian exchange their vows and share their first kiss as man and wife and before he knew it they were walking down the aisle hand in hand. The church began to file out behind them and they rushed down the stairs of the church into their limo.

* * *

Cody had realized with a smile that this was the first wedding he had ever attended where once the band began to play he would actually have someone to dance with. It was a pretty nice feeling. Beyond having someone to dance with he also had someone to talk to when all of his family were too drunk to string a coherent sentence together. Although, his father drunk was always rather entertaining. He tended to get a bit crazy – in a really fun way. His parents had insisted that they go to the reception hall before anyone else to make sure that everything was set up properly. Ian's father and stepmother were there as well but they weren't as friendly as their son so Cody had learned to try and avoid them as much as possible. Cody and Alex had found themselves a secluded place on a couch in the foyer just outside the reception hall.

"Ellie's dress was gorgeous," Alex said. Cody shrugged. Maybe it was because it was his _sister _who was the bride, or maybe it was because he was a cheesetastic sap but he thought that his girlfriend was much nicer to look at. She was wearing a red sparkly dress that came down to her knees and her hair looked perfect.

"Nah, I think yours is better," Cody said. Alex just rolled her eyes.

"Well you'd better like it because my Mom said that I have to wear it to prom too."

Cody bit his lip. "I…I have something for you…" he said, reaching into his breast pocket.

"Okay…" Alex said in confusion as she watched her boyfriend pull out a box. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the size and color of it.

"What?" She asked, unable to form a complete thought as he handed her the light blue jewelry box.

"I got it for you last Christmas. But…my Dad kinda freaked out and made me work until I paid it off so I couldn't give it to you right away. But…it's mine now so…it's yours…that didn't make any sense."

Alex opened it and gasped as she realized that it was the necklace she had fallen in love with the day they had run into each other while Christmas shopping. She started to shake her head and tears began to form in her eyes. She had always promised herself that she would never get emotional over a piece of jewelry like some money grubbing bimbo but… she realized at this moment that it wasn't the jewelry that was special. She couldn't believe that someone in the world thought she was worth thousands of dollars and months of hard work just to give her a stupid necklace.

"Cody….I…. Thank you so much. I don't…I don't know what to say."

Cody smiled and took it out of the box for her. "You don't have to say anything," he said as he wrapped it around her neck. "You just have to wear it." Alex smiled at him and leaned closer to give him a chaste kiss on the lips.

"I'm not watching this. I'm not watching this!" They heard as a gust of chili air suddenly filled the room. Cody broke away from his girlfriend to see his grandmother, both grandfather's, Luke, and his great-grandparents walk inside. Lorelai had her hands covering her eyes as Luke tried to get her to put them down so he could take off her coat.

"You might want to move that to a more private place, buddy. I'm sure there's an open room down the hall," Christopher said as he walked over to his grandson and ruffled his hair. Cody scowled and put it back in its proper place.

"It was just a kiss," he mumbled. "Where's Aunt Honor and Uncle Josh?" he asked, noticing the members of his immediate family that were mysteriously missing.

"They decided to go back to their house until the reception started so the baby could take a nap. They'll be here when it starts," Mitchum explained. "Where's your father?"

Cody shrugged. "Around."

"You're a great help, kiddo." His family walked into the reception hall once again leaving him and Alex to themselves. He was lucky that they all seemed to be pretty busy with something. His great-grandmother Emily was probably going crazy ordering the florists about and demanding excellence. His grandpa Mitchum was probably interrogating his dad about the business. And his grams was probably trying to get drunk as soon as possible.

There was still two more hours left until the reception began and he had no idea what they were going to do until then. He considered for a moment taking his grandfathers advice and trying to find a room somewhere but his mother would no doubt realize he was gone and go looking for him and that wouldn't end well. He should have tagged along with his Aunt Honor and his cousins. At least at their house he and Alex could hang out and watch television until the reception started. Although, sitting here and cuddling with his girlfriend wasn't too bad. The only downside was his entire family was probably watching them.

"They're pretty cute aren't they?" Lorelai asked her daughter as they watched the young couple sitting on the couch from behind. Rory smiled and nodded.

"I'm a bit worried though."

"Why is that?" Lorelai asked.

"Well…" Rory said. "I love Alex but…it's their senior year and they're getting a bit too serious. I don't want Cody to make any decisions about college based on something that may not last."

"Cody's a smart kid. He's not going to do that,' Lorelai said. "Besides you gotta let him live his own life, sweets. You don't think that Dean and Jess ever made me nervous? Don't even talk about Logan. I thought for a while there you would never going to work again…"

"I had kids to take care of!" Rory said in astonishment.

"I know you did and I didn't mean to start a fight. I'm just saying….Cody will figure himself out. Don't go meddling in his relationship. Especially if it makes him happy."

"I wasn't going to meddle…I just… worry…" Rory said.

"Aw…" Lorelai said, wrapping her arm around her daughter's shoulders and giving them a quick squeeze. "I know you do, sweets."

"And I really _do _like Alex."

"I know, honey," Lorelai said. "Come on, we have a reception to set up."

* * *

Ellie had completely failed today. It had been her one goal to get through the day dry eyed. She was strong independent woman. Yes she was unbelievably happy to be marrying the love of her life but that didn't mean that she had to resort to becoming a blubbering fool at her wedding. She had though. There was no avoiding it. She had cried so much that by the time she had found herself out on the dance floor in her husband's arms for the first time her makeup had completely washed off her eyes.

Ian just chuckled and wiped his thumbs underneath her eyes to rid them of the newest set of droplets. "If you don't stop I'm gong to begin thinking that you're actually mourning."

Ellie shook her head and laughed. "I don't know what is wrong with me. I just can't stop crying."

"Maybe it's PMS," Ian suggested with shrug.

Ellie blanched. "Don't even joke about that. Ever since I was a kid I have been terrified that I would end up being on my period during my honeymoon."

"You had a dirty mind as a child, didn't you?" Ian joked.

Ellie rolled her eyes. "You can't grow up in my family without a dirty mind. Have you ever met my grandmother?"

Ian nodded. "I believe I have had that unique pleasure, yes."

"My mother's sex talk consisted of her telling me to make sure that I gave my virtue to the right guy or else I would have to buy the next one a sweater. And she couldn't stop laughing the whole time she was saying it. I don't even think she was being serious. In fact, I know she wasn't because she kept saying that it's been the bane of her existence because my Dad doesn't like her taste in sweaters."

"You've never bought me a sweater," Ian said contemplatively.

"Yes I have! I bought you that red one for Christmas two years ago!"

"Oh…I guess that's right..." he said. "So was that my sex sweater then? If it is I don't think I should wear it to my grandmother's birthday again."

"I guess not."

"You know it's absolutely shameful that you're wearing white. You're lying to everyone here and you're lying in front of God. There's no point of that, Lorelai Elizabeth Cromwell. He already knows."

Ellie beamed a wide smile. "Say that again," she said, placing her head on his shoulder as they continued to move around the dance floor.

"What?" Ian asked. "God already knows?"

"No," Ellie said with an amused shake of her head. "Say my name again."

Ian smiled and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Lorelai Elizabeth Cromwell."

Ellie took a deep breath and smiled. "I have never heard anything more wonderful in my life."

"I don't think your dad's too terribly thrilled about it," Ian said as he caught the gaze of his new father-in-law across the room. Logan was staring at them with a less than thrilled look upon his face. He didn't seem angry with Ian, which was a comfort to the young man, but he certainly didn't seem happy with the situation either. Ellie lifted her head from her husband's shoulder and craned her neck to sneak a peak at her father. Logan looked away just as she caught his gaze and Ellie just rolled her eyes.

"Daddy is just sad. That's all. If he had his way I would be two foot high wearing my Cinderella dress and marrying our old dog Dodger."

Ian laughed. "I can't imagine my mum would be too terribly happy right now either." Ellie smiled softly at him and brushed a bit of hair out of his eyes. "She'd love you though. I'm quite sure that as sad as she would be to see me get married she'd be happy it was to you."

"Why because I am so wonderfully intelligent and incredibly beautiful?" Ellie asked teasingly.

Ian laughed. "No. She'd be able to see how madly in love with you I am. That's all."

Ellie smiled brightly and kissed him on the lips for the millionth time. She always thought that she would be too embarrassed to be like one of those couples who couldn't keep their lips away from each other at their wedding but she seemed to be mistaken about just about everything today. Ian broke away and gave his wife another blissful smile.

"Do you think it would be inappropriate for us to start full out snogging in front of all these people?" He asked.

Ellie laughed. "Probably," she said. The couple continued to dance until the music began to wind down.

"Now, ladies and gentleman," The lead singer of the band said into the microphone. "I would like to invite the father of the bride out onto the dance floor."

* * *

"I don't think I can do this, Ace." Logan whispered to his wife. Rory had had just about enough of his moping for one day and rolled her eyes before pulling him out of his chair and pushing him out unto the dance floor.

"Yes you can," Rory said. "Grow some balls for goodness sake." She shook her head n annoyance as he walked out onto the dance floor, shook Ian's hand and placed his hand in the small of their daughter's back. The band starred to play the first chords _Have I Told You Lately That I Love You_? and Rory took a deep sigh, hoping that he would be able to hold it together.

"Logan's having a pretty rough time of it isn't he?" Luke asked as he and her mother walked up to her.

Rory nodded. "I'd have to say that's a bit of an understatement."

Lorelai nodded as well. "You know, kid, I have to say… I never really thought I would live to see Logan like this."

"What?" Rory asked. "Acting like a four year old girl? I find that strange considering you've known him for thirty years."

"No…I just mean… when you two got married I was a little scared. I never thought that he was really the marrying kind. I never thought I would see him twenty five years later walking your daughter down the aisle and still wearing a ring."

Rory shook her head. "I'm glad to know you thought so little of him. Thanks, Mom."

"I'm just saying I was wrong." Lorelai said. "And…well….you know how much I hate being wrong so…the fact that I'm admitting it…well…you should be amazed." Rory rolled her eyes. "You've done pretty well for yourself kid. I'm proud of you."

Rory smiled. "You've done pretty well for yourself too, Mom."

"What? Luke?" Lorelai asked, turning to her husband who was already too annoyed for words. "Yeah…I guess. I mean, I had to give up on my dreams of Clooney eventually. He may not be as rich but he makes a good burger and I never have to call a plumber. Plus, he's just as sexy…."

"Aw jeez…" Luke said, taking that opportunity to walk away and toward the bar for another beer.

Lorelai chucked and watched him walk away. "Oh that'll never get old."

"And you're surprised that Logan and I lasted this long."

Lorelai shrugged. "Ah," she said. "We're Gilmore Girls, kid. It might take us a while to find it, but we always get what we want."

Rory smiled and turned to look at her husband dip their daughter out on the dance floor. His eyes were dry and he actually had a genuine smile on his face for the firs time that night.

"That we do," she said.

The mother and daughter both lifted their glasses toward each other and they touched with a small cling before they brought them to their lips.

* * *

"Your mother certainly knows how to throw a party," Gracie said as she took a sip of her long island iced-tea. Jake watched her lips wrap around her straw with great interest and nodded, forcing himself to stay in the conversation.

"I think it's my great-grandmother more than my mother but I'll pass along your compliment," Jake replied. "Do you want to dance?"

"Sure," Gracie said with a smile. Jake took her hand and led her out to the dance floor. He caught Ian's eye over his sister's shoulder and his brand new brother-in-law sent him a tiny glare. Jake just shrugged and Ian rolled his eyes before turning his attention back to his new wife. He wrapped his arms around Gracie's waist and she placed hers upon his shoulders.

"So…I guess this makes us cousins now doesn't it?" She asked.

"What?" Jake asked. "No…of course not. There's no biology between us to worry about."

"Well…why would we have to worry about that?" Gracie asked with a teasing smile. Jake smirked back.

"I dunno…" he said slyly. "I guess kissing you would be frowned upon if we were really cousins. Wouldn't it?"

Gracie smiled and nodded. "It probably would."

Jake leaned in closer and inched his lips closer and closer to hers. Yet, before their lips could touch he felt a strong vibration in his pocket. Surprised at the call, he stopped the kiss before it began. He could tell by the look on her face that Gracie was disappointed.

"Who's calling me while I'm at my sister's wedding? Seriously…" Jake said as he took out his phone. Gracie chuckled but her laughter soon ceased as she took in the look on his face.

"I…um…I'll be right back…." Jake said as he left her standing alone on the dance floor. He walked out into the foyer and sat on the couch that had earlier been holding his little brother and his girlfriend. Dialing his voice mail he waited with baited breath for the voice on the other line.

"_Hey...it's me. I guess…I'm not surprised you didn't answer your phone. Um…you're probably pretty busy with everything. Tell Ellie I said congratulations…or…don't…if you don't want to. I just…wanted to call and send my best wishes her way. I wish I could be there with you….I miss you…you probably hate me right now…I'm gonna go. Please…call me back…I mean if you want. I wouldn't mind if you called me back if you wanted… I… Bye." _

Jake sat on the couch holding the phone to his ear for what seemed like hours after listening to that voice mail. Why was it that the moment he finally thought that he could get over her she came crashing back into his life. He sat there in shock for a while longer until someone plopped down next to him with a heavy sigh.

"Hey, Dad," he said lightly. Logan threw an arm around Jake and pulled him closer. Jake chuckled and gave in. His dad always got a bit more affectionate after a few drinks.

"Hey, Buddy," Logan said. "How ya feeling? Pretty good with that little redhead on your plate, huh?"

"Yeah… I dunno…" Jake said. Suddenly the prospect of Gracie terrified him rather than excited him. It was mostly due to the fact that he knew now that he was going to have to turn her down. He wasn't going to let Becca slip away again. "Dad…"

"What, kiddo?"

"I think I'm going to change my major."

"To what?"

"Pre-med."

"Pre-med," Logan said with a nod. "You know my grandfather was a doctor."

Jake sent him a confused glance. "Smith…Grandpa Smith….My mom's dad. He died before you were born. He was a doctor. He was a good man. I always wished I would have got to know him better. I'm glad you want to be a doctor."

"Thanks, Dad…." Jake said.

Logan smiled and squeezed his son again. "I love you, kid."

"I love you too, Dad."

"Good," Logan said before standing up. "I'm gonna go find your mother. She owes me dance."

Jake watched with a smile as his father eventually found his mother and wrapped his arms around her from behind. Rory jumped and turned around, throwing her arms over his shoulders and kissing him happily on the lips. He would be the luckiest man on earth if he could find what his parents had one day. Even when he was drunk off his ass his father was still madly in love with his mother. He didn't have eyes for anyone else in the room.

"So this is where you disappeared to," Gracie said as she sat next to him.

"Yeah…" Jake said. "Look…you're _great_. You're beautiful and smart….but…that was my ex on the phone and…well…"

Gracie put her hand up to stop him. "Say no more," she said. "I get it. I'm sure I can snag someone else here…"

"I think the blond in the paisley tie was looking your way…"

"I think he was more in love with my dress than me," Gracie said. "I'll see if I can try to snag one of those lovely Asian rocker boys…"

"You want Steve," Jake said. "Kwon is engaged. Steve is the one in the green tie. Say something about Keith Moon and you're in."

"Thanks," Gracie said with a laugh. "Good luck with your girl."

"Thanks." Jake had a feeling he was going to need it. For the time being he would spend the rest of the night celebrating with his family. He pushed himself off the couch, walked through the room and cut in on the bride and groom. He wasn't going to let Ian hog the bride all night. He needed at least one dance with his big sister.

* * *

It was quite some party. He would know. He had thrown a great many in his day. He was the master of the party. He couldn't count on his hand the number of times his friends had turned to him to plan their next big blowout. Everyone knew that if you wanted to have an awesome party you had to talk to Logan Huntzberger. The parties he threw in college were the best parties of his life.

For some reason tonight he seemed to be completely in tune with just how long ago that was. All night he had felt so unbelievably old. He had never felt so old in his entire life then he had the moment he walked his baby girl down the aisle. Wasn't it just yesterday when he was a twenty-six year old kid holing a little tiny baby in his arms? That was twenty-four years ago.

Twenty-four years. How was that even possible? So much had happened over twenty-four years. His kids weren't even kids anymore. All night he had sat back and watched them with a pained smile on his face, remembering the day when his friends and family were getting married and they bounced around in their tiny little tuxes and her tiny little flower girl dresses. They were all grown up now. Cody would be off to college soon. Jake was finally learning to be an adult. Ellie was married.

As of twelve hours ago his little girl was no longer his. He was not the most important man in her life. He was not the man she was going to come home to. He was not the man she was going to come to when she needed help. She didn't even have his name anymore. She was a Cromwell now. Cromwell. What the hell happened to feminism? Wasn't the in thing now for women to keep their names? Ellie Huntzberger sounded much better than Ellie Cromwell… in his opinion at least.

He felt an arm wrap around his waist and a pair of lips on his check and settled into his wife's embrace. They were the last people present at the reception hall. Jake and Cody had gone home with his Dad, not wanting to stick around until the bitter end. They both looked a little worse for the wear by the time the party was winding down. Logan had made note to ask why the redhead had ended up going home with Steve Van Gerbig instead of Jake – not that he objected. He was actally quite happy that Jake's one-night stand days seemed to be over.

"Party's over, babe," Rory said. Logan by this time had completely sobered up. The warm buzz of the alcohol had left him and he was left to the mercy of his emotions. "You okay?"

"Not really…" Logan said. "But I will be."

Rory smiled and squeezed his waist. Logan smiled back and pulled her into a tight embrace. Once he let go he took her hand and led her back over to the dance floor.

"What are you doing?" She asked as he took his iPhone out of his pocket. Logan smiled as his fingers began sliding and suddenly the sound of Moon River flowed out of the tiny speakers. He placed the phone on the floor and pulled his wife into his arms before gliding her across the dance floor covered in flowers, confetti, and bits of ribbon.

"Why do you always have to be such a hopeless romantic?" Rory asked as they danced to their song.

Logan shrugged. "You just bring it out in me, Ace."

"You know…" Rory said. "My Dad said tonight that if Ian is half as good to Ellie as you are to me you'll never have anything to worry about."

Logan smiled. "Well, you bring out the best in me, Ace."

"I love you so much, Logan," Rory said, resting her head against his shoulder. "I wouldn't trade these last thirty years for anything in the world."

"I wouldn't either, Ace." Logan whispered as held his wife even closer.

He didn't feel like going home just yet. He would let the janitorial staff come in and clean around them. He never wanted this moment to end. He never wanted to let go of Rory again. He wanted to stay here on this dance floor with her forever, reliving their first dance as husband as wife. It seemed that with Rory in his arms there was nothing on earth that could harm him.

"Well….maybe for thirty more."

* * *

**The End**

Thank you all so much for sticking with this story despite the extremely lengthy gaps in updates toward the end. You guys are seriously the best reviewers on this site! I can never thank you enough. I'll see you on my next update. I don't know which fic it will be but you haven't seen the last of me! Please review!


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